The ongoing rapid climate change, combined with the disturbance of fish breeding grounds, may impact reproduction by endangering successful breeding and survival, and thus affect the viable sustainability in aquaculture systems as well as in the sea. In this study we focus on the biocomplexity of fish reproduction in response to climate change. Further, we propose adaptive strategies, including technological advancements, using a noninvasive and non-lethal approach, and we outline an assisted reproduction and nutrigenomics approach to mitigating fish reproductive risks posed by climate change. This was done in an effort to monitor fish aquaculture and ensure that, as a livelihood, it may provide a useful source of nutrition for our society.

A two-fold integrated research study was conducted; firstly, to understand the effects of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) on the growth and oxidative stress in Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus; secondly, to study the beneficial effects of the duckweed Lemna minor L. as a heavy metal remover in wastewater. Experiments were conducted in mesocosms with and without duckweed. Tilapia fingerlings were exposed to Cu (0.004 and 0.02 mg L⁻¹) and Zn (0.5 and 1.5 mg L⁻¹) and fish fed for four weeks. We evaluated the fish growth performance, the hepatic DNA structure using comet assay, the expression of antioxidative genes (superoxide dismutase, SOD; catalase, CAT; glutathione peroxidase, GPx and glutathione-S-transferase, GST) and GPx and GST enzymatic activity. The results showed that Zn exhibited more pronounced toxic effects than Cu. A low dose of Cu did not influence the growth whereas higher doses of Cu and Zn significantly reduced the growth rate of tilapia compared to the control, but the addition of duckweed prevented weight loss. Furthermore, in the presence of a high dose of Cu and Zn, DNA damage decreased, antioxidant gene expressions and enzymatic activities increased. In conclusion, the results suggest that duckweed and Nile tilapia can be suitable candidates in metal remediation wastewater assessment programs.

The objective of this review is to briefly summarize the recent progress in studies done on the assessment of reprotoxicity risk posed by global warming for the foundation of strategic tool in ecosystem-based adaptation. The selected animal data analysis that was used in this paper focuses on antioxidative markers and fertility rate estimated over the period 2000–2019. We followed a phylogenetic methodology in order to report data on a panel of selected organisms that show dangerous effects. The oxidative damage studies related to temperature fluctuation occurring in biosentinels of different invertebrate and vertebrate classes show a consistently maintained physiological defense. Furthermore, the results from homeothermic and poikilothermic species in our study highlight the influence of temperature rise on reprotoxicity.

The ageing process in living organisms is characterised by the accumulation of several deleterious changes occurring in cells and tissues. The increase of reactive oxygen species with the advancement of age is responsible for the oxidative damage to proteins, lipids and DNA, enhancing the risk of diseases. The antioxidant response and the activation of the poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation process represent the first defences activated by organisms at all life stages to counteract damage to cell structures and genomic material. The regulation of poly(ADP ribosyl)ation with age is little known in plants, especially in combination with antioxidant defences modulation. In this study, the relationships between poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) activity and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant pool have been studied together with the photosynthetic apparatus efficiency in the Mediterranean species Cistus incanus L., examining leaves at different developmental stages: young, mature and senescent. The photosynthetic performance was evaluated by chlorophyll a fluorescence measurement, the total soluble and fat-soluble antioxidant capacity, as well as the activities of enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST), were determined by spectrophotometer, PARP activity was assessed by radioactive labelling. The highest photochemical activity was observed in young leaves, together with the highest GST activity. With the progress of the ageing process, the non-enzymatic antioxidant pool (namely ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol) declined, reaching the lowest value in senescent leaves, whereas PARP activity rose significantly. The overall results indicate that the decline of photosynthetic apparatus efficiency during senescence is due to the reduction of specific defences against oxidative damages, which increase the damages to DNA, as demonstrated by PARP activity rise.

Our study attempted to monitor the quality of water in Medjarda basin (Northeastern Algeria) and to provide baseline information of heavy metals in the water as well as in a potential amphibian biosentinel, the spiny toad, Bufo spinosus. We measured pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen and biological oxygen demand of water and levels of heavy metals in toad skin using an atomic absorption flame spectrophotometer. Lead (Pb) concentration in water and in toad skin at all sites exceeded respectively 60 and 96 times the standard reference values. The heavy metal concentrations, in descending order, in water and in male toad skin were as follows: Pb > Fe > Cu > Zn and Fe > Pb > Zn > Cu respectively. This study highlights the ecological status of the surrounding areas upstream of the Medjarda basin as being a point source of heavy metal pollution. It is further stated that a non-invasive skin removal is an ethically sound technique to evaluate heavy metal accumulation in aquatic animals like toad, without euthanizing the specimens and making any loss to biodiversity of the species.