Chapter 5: AnthropogenicStressors AndToxicological ImpactsOn Freshwater Biota

Abstract

Freshwater ecosystems are among the most biologically diverse yet highly threatened environments due to increasing anthropogenic pressures. This chapter explores the major anthropogenic stressors, including industrial pollution, agricultural runoff, urbanization, and climate change, and their toxicological impacts on freshwater biota. The mechanisms of toxicity such as bioaccumulation, oxidative stress, endocrine disruption, genotoxicity, neurotoxicity, and immunotoxicity are discussed in detail to highlight how pollutants affect organisms at multiple levels of biological organization. The chapter further examines the consequences of these stressors on fish, aquatic invertebrates, plants, and overall ecosystem functioning, emphasizing biodiversity loss and disruption of ecological balance.