Tudor M Scarlett, Lopez-Anido Rebecca N, Yocius Charly A, Conlin Sarah M, Hamlin Heather J
University of Maine Cooperative Extension Aquatic Animal Health Laboratory, 17 Godfrey Drive, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04473 USA.
Aquaculture Research Institute, Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, York Complex #4, Orono, ME 04469, USA.
Heliyon. 2019 Oct 28;5(10):e02646. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02646. eCollection 2019 Oct.
Arsenic is a metalloid pollutant that is commonly found in surface and groundwater worldwide. Toxicological effects of arsenic are relatively well-known, but much less studied are its effects on behavioral endpoints, which may have considerable evolutionary and population-level consequences. Here we investigated the effects of exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of arsenic (0, 10 and 100 μg/L) for 96-hours on female preference for male color (i.e. red versus blue) in , an increasingly popular fish model for contaminant-induced behavioral dysfunction. Further, we examined whether arsenic exposure altered anxiety-like behaviors using a standard scototaxis test (preference for light or dark), as well as measured tissue cortisol concentrations to increase our understanding of possible mechanisms driving behavioral responses. We found exposure to 100 μg/L arsenic results in a loss of female preference for red males, and arsenic exposed females showed increased anxiety-like behavior. The loss in preference for male coloration may have been driven by anxiety, as preference for red was negatively correlated with anxiety-like behavior for all fish. Interestingly, increase in anxiety-like behavior occurred without a parallel increase in cortisol. Female preference for red colored males may confer fitness benefits, and this study highlights important arsenic-induced behavioral changes that could have population level consequences.
砷是一种类金属污染物，在全球地表水和地下水中普遍存在。砷的毒理学效应相对为人所知，但对其行为学终点的影响研究较少，而这可能会产生相当大的进化和种群水平的后果。在此，我们研究了在一种日益流行的用于污染物诱导行为功能障碍研究的鱼类模型中，暴露于环境相关浓度的砷（0、10和100微克/升）96小时对雌性对雄性颜色（即红色与蓝色）偏好的影响。此外，我们使用标准的趋暗性试验（对光或暗的偏好）检查了砷暴露是否改变了类似焦虑的行为，并测量了组织皮质醇浓度，以加深我们对驱动行为反应的可能机制的理解。我们发现，暴露于100微克/升的砷会导致雌性对红色雄性的偏好丧失，且暴露于砷的雌性表现出增加的类似焦虑的行为。对雄性颜色偏好的丧失可能是由焦虑驱动的，因为对所有鱼类而言，对红色的偏好与类似焦虑的行为呈负相关。有趣的是，类似焦虑行为的增加并未伴随着皮质醇的相应增加。雌性对红色雄性的偏好可能带来适应性益处，本研究突出了砷诱导的重要行为变化，这些变化可能会产生种群水平的后果。
