title: Disruption of the stress response in wastewater treatment works effluent-exposed three-spined sticklebacks persists after translocation to an unpolluted environment.
abstract: The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal/interrenal (HPA/I) axis plays a key role in responding to biotic and abiotic challenges in all vertebrates. Recent studies have shown that the apical response of the HPI axis to stressors in three-spined sticklebacks varies in proportion to the concentration of wastewater treatment works (WWTW) effluent to which the fish are exposed. This study was conducted to determine whether between-site variation in stress responsiveness among WWTW effluent-exposed sticklebacks is persistent or reversible. Sticklebacks from eight sites in north-west England affected by WWTW effluent and exhibiting between-population variation in HPI axis reactivity, were moved to a clean-water aquarium environment. After five months in the contaminant-free environment the responsiveness of these fish to a standardised stressor was determined, by measuring the rate of stress-induced cortisol release across the gills, and compared with the responses of fish newly sampled from the eight original capture sites. Inter-site differences in the reactivity of the HPI axis, proportional to the effluent concentration at each site, persisted among the translocated female sticklebacks for at least 5 months. In male fish however, the direct relationship between stress responsiveness and site-specific effluent was not evident 5 months post-translocation. These results support previous observations that the HPA/I axis, a non-reproductive endocrine system, is vulnerable to modulation by anthropogenic factors in fish and show for the first time that, in female fish at least, this modulation is not transient. The mechanisms underlying these observations, and the implications for the fitness and resilience of affected populations, requires investigation.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4AP, UK. tgp@ceh.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Tom G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Pottinger
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4AP, UK.|Dolfan Barn, Beulah, Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys, LD5 4UE, UK.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Matthiessen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004703:Endocrine System / Q000502:physiology; D004739:England; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D023701:Smegmamorpha / Q000502:physiology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D062065:Wastewater / Q000633:toxicity*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Cortisol; Municipal wastewater; Sewage; Stress response
references.citation: Drug Discov Today Technol. 2014 Jun;12 :e3-8
references.pmid: 25027372
references.citation: Birth Defects Res C Embryo Today. 2011 Mar;93(1):19-33
references.pmid: 21425439
references.citation: Zebrafish. 2013 Mar;10(1):110-5
references.pmid: 23445429
references.citation: Aquat Toxicol. 2006 Jun 10;78(1):59-65
references.pmid: 16564581
references.citation: Sci Total Environ. 2005 May 1;343(1-3):1-34
references.pmid: 15862833
references.citation: Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2007 Aug-Sep;153(1-3):392-400
references.pmid: 17188270
references.citation: Environ Sci Technol. 2008 Aug 1;42(15):5390-9
references.pmid: 18754451
references.citation: Front Neuroendocrinol. 2008 Jun;29(3):358-74
references.pmid: 18394690
references.citation: Aquat Toxicol. 2004 Mar 30;67(1):13-21
references.pmid: 15019247
references.citation: Horm Behav. 2001 Nov;40(3):419-27
references.pmid: 11673915
references.citation: Endocrinology. 2012 Sep;153(9):4097-110
references.pmid: 22733974
references.citation: J Mol Endocrinol. 2011 Feb;46(1):R11-32
references.pmid: 21322125
references.citation: Ecotoxicology. 2011 May;20(3):503-12
references.pmid: 21455608
references.citation: Aquat Toxicol. 2013 Jan 15;126:382-92
references.pmid: 23021553
references.citation: Ambio. 2015 May;44(4):257-74
references.pmid: 25416865
references.citation: Ecotoxicology. 2013 Jul;22(5):938-57
references.pmid: 23722603
references.citation: Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2002 Apr 15;180(2):110-7
references.pmid: 11969378
references.citation: Aquat Toxicol. 2011 May;103(1-2):85-91
references.pmid: 21392498
references.citation: Environ Int. 2011 Jan;37(1):158-69
references.pmid: 20851469
references.citation: Environ Toxicol Chem. 2009 Jan;28(1):220-30
references.pmid: 18817457
references.citation: Endocr Rev. 2000 Feb;21(1):55-89
references.pmid: 10696570
references.citation: Endocrinology. 2006 Apr;147(4):1895-903
references.pmid: 16410306
references.citation: Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2011 Jun 1;253(2):137-44
references.pmid: 21466817
references.citation: J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2015 Apr;100(4):1245-55
references.pmid: 25742516
references.citation: Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006 Mar;20(1):111-20
references.pmid: 16522523
references.citation: Aquat Toxicol. 2014 Jan;146:20-7
references.pmid: 24269906
references.citation: Toxicol Sci. 2005 Apr;84(2):260-9
references.pmid: 15635147
references.citation: J Fish Biol. 2009 Apr;74(6):1143-205
references.pmid: 20735625
references.citation: Gen Comp Endocrinol. 1996 Dec;104(3):284-95
references.pmid: 8954761
references.citation: J Fish Biol. 2012 Sep;81(4):1327-39
references.pmid: 22957873
references.citation: Mutat Res Genet Toxicol Environ Mutagen. 2014 Apr;764-765:36-45
references.pmid: 24004878
references.citation: Environ Toxicol Chem. 2014 Feb;33(2):447-52
references.pmid: 24375744
references.citation: Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2012 Dec 1;179(3):400-5
references.pmid: 23022581
references.citation: Aquat Toxicol. 2012 Apr;110-111:149-61
references.pmid: 22307007
references.citation: BMC Evol Biol. 2008 Oct 10;8:282
references.pmid: 18847479
references.citation: Integr Comp Biol. 2002 Jul;42(3):517-25
references.pmid: 21708747