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Smell no evil: Copper disrupts the alarm chemical response in a diadromous fish, Galaxias maculatus
Author(s) -
Thomas Oliver R.B.,
Barbee Nicole C.,
Hassell Kathryn L.,
Swearer Stephen E.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.3371
Subject(s) - odor , alarm , olfaction , fish <actinopterygii> , zoology , biology , fish migration , ecology , toxicology , environmental chemistry , chemistry , fishery , composite material , materials science , neuroscience
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