title: Smell no evil: Copper disrupts the alarm chemical response in a diadromous fish, Galaxias maculatus.
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.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and Management (CAPIM), School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Oliver R B
authors.initials: OR
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and Management (CAPIM), School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Nicole C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Barbee
authors.affiliation: Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and Management (CAPIM), School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Kathryn L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Hassell
authors.affiliation: Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and Management (CAPIM), School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Stephen E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Swearer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001315:Australia; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D003300:Copper / Q000633:toxicity*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D009812:Odorants / Q000032:analysis; D055696:Olfactory Perception / Q000187:drug effects*; D036441:Osmeriformes / Q000502:physiology*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D003300:Copper
keywords: Copper; Ecotoxicology; Fish behavior; Galaxiid; Metal; Olfaction