title: Severe hypoxia impairs lateralization in a marine teleost fish.
abstract: In intertidal environments, the recurring hypoxic condition at low tide is one of the main factors affecting fish behaviour, causing broad effects on ecological interactions. We assessed the effects of hypoxia on lateralization (e.g. the tendency to turn left or right), a behaviour related to brain functional asymmetry, which is thought to play a key role in several life history aspects of fish. Using staghorn sculpin (Leptocottus armatus), a benthic fish that typically inhabits the intertidal zone, we found that hypoxia affects behavioural lateralization at the population level. On average, staghorn sculpins showed a distinct preference for right turns under normoxic conditions (>90% oxygen saturation), but an equal probability of turning right or left after exposure to hypoxia for 2 h (20% oxygen saturation). The specific turning preference observed in the staghorn sculpin control population is likely to have an adaptive value, for example in predator-prey interactions by enhancing attack success or survival from predatory attacks. Therefore the alteration of lateralization expressed by staghorn sculpins under hypoxic conditions may have far-reaching implications for species ecology and trophic interactions. Moreover, our work raises the need to study this effect in other species, in which a hypoxia-driven disruption of lateralization could affect a wider range of behaviours, such as social interactions and schooling.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, Università di Padova, Padova 35131, Italy tyrone.luconxiccato@studenti.unipd.it.
authors.forename: Tyrone
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lucon-Xiccato
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, Graham Kerr Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK.
authors.forename: Julie J H
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Nati
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Zoofisiologia e Bioquímica Comparativa, Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Paulo, 13565-905, Brasil.
authors.forename: Felipe Rocco
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Blasco
authors.affiliation: ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
authors.forename: Jacob L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Johansen
authors.affiliation: Marine Biological Section, University of Copenhagen, Helsingør DK-3000, Denmark.
authors.forename: John F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Steffensen
authors.affiliation: CNR-IAMC, Istituto per l'Ambiente Marino Costiero, Località Sa Mardini, Torregrande, 09072 Oristano, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Domenici
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D017753:Ecosystem; D005068:Eutrophication; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D008124:Locomotion / Q000502:physiology*; D010100:Oxygen; D010473:Perciformes / Q000502:physiology*; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen
keywords: Detour test; Hypoxia; Lateralization; Staghorn sculpin