title: Compensatory response of fathead minnow larvae following a pulsed in-situ exposure to a seasonal agricultural runoff event.
abstract: Agriculturally-dominated waterways such as those found throughout the Midwestern United States often experience seasonal pulses of agrichemical contaminants which pose a potential hazard to aquatic organisms at varying life stages. The objective of this study was to characterize the developmental plasticity of fathead minnow larvae in a natural environment subject to a seasonal episodic perturbation in the form of a complex mixture of agricultural stressors. Fathead minnow larvae were maintained at the Elkhorn River Research Station for a 28-d in situ exposure to an agrichemical pulse event. Minnow larvae were sampled after 14 and 28days to characterize developmental plasticity through growth measures and relative gene expression. Concentrations of agrichemical contaminants measured in water using polar organic chemical integrative samplers and composite sediment samples throughout the 28-d exposure were quantified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Elevated concentrations of acetochlor, atrazine, and metolachlor were indicative of inputs from agricultural sources and were associated with reductions in body mass, condition factor, and androgenic gene expression in river exposed fathead minnow larvae. However, following a 14-d in situ depuration during the post-pulse period, river exposed larvae overcompensated in previously suppressed biological endpoints. These results indicate that fathead minnow larvae are capable of compensatory responses following episodic exposure to agrichemical stressors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health, University of Nebraska - Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-6805, United States.
authors.forename: Jonathan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Peter Kiewit Institute, Omaha, NE 68182-0178, United States; USDA-ARS, U.S. Salinity Laboratory, Riverside, CA 92507-4617, United States.
authors.forename: Jodi L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Sangster
authors.affiliation: Nebraska Water Center and School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583-0844, United States.
authors.forename: Daniel D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Snow
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Peter Kiewit Institute, Omaha, NE 68182-0178, United States.
authors.forename: Shannon L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Bartelt-Hunt
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health, University of Nebraska - Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-6805, United States; Department of Biology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE 68182-0040, United States. Electronic address: akolok@unomaha.edu.
authors.forename: Alan S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Kolok
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization; D016573:Agrochemicals / Q000032:analysis*; D000818:Animals; D003530:Cyprinidae / Q000502:physiology*; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D015146:Midwestern United States; D012621:Seasons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D016573:Agrochemicals; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Agricultural runoff; Compensation; Fathead minnow larvae; Gene expression; In situ exposure; Pesticides