Thomas ORB, Barbee NC, Hassell KL, Swearer SE. Smell no evil: Copper disrupts the alarm chemical response in a diadromous fish, Galaxias maculatus.
Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;
35:2209-2214. [PMID:
27552396 DOI:
10.1002/etc.3371]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2015] [Revised: 10/29/2015] [Accepted: 01/11/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Fish, at all life stages, utilize olfactory information in the decision-making processes essential to survival. Olfaction is a sensitive sensory process, and toxicants within urban aquatic environments can have destructive or depreciating effects. In the present study, the authors exposed Galaxias maculatus, a native fish commonly found in urban waterways throughout southeastern Australia, to 1 of 5 ecologically relevant copper (II) chloride concentrations (<1 μg/L, 1 μg/L, 6 μg/L, 8 μg/L, 18 μg/L) for 16 h. After exposure, the authors tested the response of individual fish to 1 of 3 stimuli: a conspecific skin extract containing a stress-inducing alarm chemical odor, a conspecific odor, and distilled water as a control. Stress responses were quantified through behavioral assays. The authors found evidence for distinct changes in behavioral response with increasing copper concentration and a marked difference in response between control fish and fish exposed to the alarm chemical odor. Copper, even at relatively low concentrations, can have a significant effect on the stress response behavior shown by G. maculatus. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:2209-2214. © 2016 SETAC.
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