The Rietvlei Dam near Pretoria, South Africa, provides drinking water for the city and for the wild life in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve, and is also used for recreational fishing. The dam is part of the Sesmyl Spruit system, which has a history of pollution, the major sources of which are industrial, agricultural and sewage from informal human settlements upstream of the reserve. With a large wetland separating the upstream Marais Dam and the Rietvlei Dam, the system has a high conservation priority status because of the high number of bird species that breed and roost in the various habitats. As part of a big aquatic health project in the Zoology Department, Rand Afrikaans University, aimed at finding suitable biomarkers for water quality monitoring in the system, this study was done to identify the major internal helminth parasites of the sharptooth catfish, Clarias gariepinus, that can be used in fish health assessment studies, and to determine their prevalence and intensity in the Rietvlei Dam. Fish were collected during one sampling survey and examined for endoparasites, also noting any ectoparasites that are recorded in routine fish health studies. Five species of helminths were identified: the adult cestodes, Polyonchobothrium clarias (intestine and stomach), Proteocephalus glanduliger (anterior intestine), the adult nematode Procamallanus laevionchus (stomach), larvae of the nematode Contracaecum sp. and many trematode metacercariae encysted in the muscles, of which only Ornithodiplostomum sp. was successfully excysted and identified. This trematode is recorded in South Africa for the first time, but could not be specifically identified because the reproductive system was still immature. Examination of piscivorous birds in the area or experimental infection of young birds are the only means by which the adult trematodes can be obtained. The adult cestodes and nematodes had specialised structures for attachment to the stomach and/or intestinal mucosa, adaptations associated with pathological effects in the host. Polyonchobothrium clarias had a crown of 26-30 hooks on its rostellum, and this number differs from those of specimens described from catfish in other African countries. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the rostellum of the P. clarias specimens from Rietvlei Dam was different from that of specimens from other localities in South Africa. Proteocephalus glanduliger in C. gariepinus from Rietvlei Dam differed in strobila size and size of glandular organ from specimens described by Janicki (Egypt) and Mashego (South Africa), the present specimens being much longer but with smaller glandular organs. Procamallanus laevionchus is a common parasite of catfish from many African countries, including South Africa, and scanning electron microscopy showed some form of transverse markings and presence of papillae-like structures at the posterior end of female specimens, an observation which was not described in previous studies. Larval Contracaecum are also common in C. gariepinus and other fish species, and adults have been identified in several species of fish-eating birds from South Africa. The sample size of fish collected in this survey was too low for a full health assessment index (HAI) study to be undertaken. Polyonchobothrium clarias and Contracaecum, however, were highly prevalent in the host species, and Contracaecum and Ornithodiplostomum occurred at high intensity (up to 44 and 140 respectively). Endoparasites of C. gariepinus can therefore be used in the fish HAI as a bioindicator of water quality. Only two ectoparasitic species were found on C. gariepinus: Argulus japonicus (skin and fins) and Lamproglena clariae (gills). Most water quality variables from the dam were within the target limits recommended by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, but the levels of inorganic nitrogen (nitrate and ammonia) and phosphorus (orthophosphate) exceeded the limit. If uncontrolled, these may lead to eutrophication of the dam. With the parasite species and diversity known, it is recommended that fish health assessments should be conducted along pollution gradients in the system to determine whether it can be incorporated into the suite of biomarkers for water quality monitoring of the Sesmyl Spruit system. / Prof. A. Avent-Oldewage

Water resources are frequently under inspection as pollution increases. Therefore an urgent need has arisen for sensitive bio-monitoring tools in toxicant impact assessment to indicate the effect of pollution on fish health in polluted aquatic ecosystems. Histopathological assessment of fish tissue allows for early warning signs of disease and detection of long term injury in cells, tissues or organs. Various biochemical and biological studies of fish have been used to assess the consequences of environmental toxicants on fish, but histology is able to enhance and add quality to the research carried out by identifying cellular alterations and quantifying the results. The aim of this study was to assess the degree of pollution in the Marais Dam (MD) and Rietvlei Dam (RVD) in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve (RNR) by determining the health status of the sharptooth catfish, Clarias gariepinus, using fish histology as a bio-monitoring tool.The MD and RVD situated within the Sesmyl Spruit serve to provide the area with water and are separated by a natural wetland. The dams were chosen for their elevated levels of toxicants. Four sampling surveys, two low flow and two high flow, were carried out over a period of two years. During each survey twenty fish were sampled per dam. Water and sediment were sampled for metal and endocrine disrupting chemical analysis. A standardized health assessment protocol employed to determine the effects of the toxicants included analysis of blood constituents, fish necropsy, calculation of condition factor and organosomatic indices, and a qualitative and quantitative histological assessment of three target organs: the gills, liver and gonads. These organs were removed and processed according to standard techniques for histological assessment. Histopathological alterations of each organ were identified (qualitative assessment) and subsequently quantified by means of a standard methodology of criteria to assess and compare fish health (quantitative assessment). The total index (Tot-I) values from the quantitative histological assessment were statistically analyzed using the ANOVA method. Potential endocrine disrupting chemicals and metals in the water of both dams were present at levels that could be toxic. The degree of pollution was more severe in MD than RVD. Examination of tissue from the gills, liver and gonads revealed marked histopathological alterations. The quantitative histological assessment indicated that fish collected from MD were in a significantly more severe histopathological condition than those of RVD. These results indicate that the wetland may still function as a natural filter. The qualitative and quantitative histological assessment objectively compared C. gariepinus specimens from MD and RVD and the effects of the toxicants on the health of the fish. / Dr. G.M. Pieterse