ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the effect of temperature, hydrogen ion concentration, hardness of water, turbidity, and salinity on the bioavailability and toxicity of pesticides to fish. Since the toxicity of pesticides to fish is altered by many environmental factors, it would be interesting to ponder over the dependability of the laboratory-generated data for purposes of environmental hazard evaluation. The ultimate effects of a pesticide in the environment are dependent on many interrelated phenomena. First and foremost among these factors is the chemistry of the molecule itself; second, the in situ properties of the water body to which the laboratory data have to be extrapolated; and last, the properties and responses of the organism itself influence the extent of toxicity of a compound and its environmental behavior. The extrapolation of the laboratory data to the field conditions has to be undertaken with great caution.
