medicating the environment€¦ · a drug of emerging concern. one of the most widely prescribed...

Medicating the environmentBehavioural and ecological impacts of pharmaceutical

pollution on wildlife

Bob WongSchool of Biological Sciences, Monash University

bob.wong@monash.edu

http://www.bobwonglab.org

BBM_Wong

A Mexican tale…

…about swordtails

Rio Calnali

250

0

Associa

tion t

ime (

s)

X. malinche X. birchmanni

(other species) (own species)

spring waterFemales show strong preferencefor conspecific odour cues…

Fisher et al. 2006 Proc R Soc Lond B

Associa

tion t

ime (

s)

X. malinche X. birchmanni

(other species) (own species)

treated tap waterFemales show strong preferencefor conspecific odour cues…

250

0

Fisher et al. 2006 Proc R Soc Lond B

Associa

tion t

ime (

s)

X. malinche X. birchmanni

(other species) (own species)

Calnali river water…except in Canali river water

250

0

Fisher et al. 2006 Proc R Soc Lond B

Altered reproductive behaviours…

…with ecological &

evolutionary effects

Back in Australia…

80

0

Association

time (s)

pristine

site

waste water

treatment

Males downstream from waste water treatment showed increased mating activity

Saaristo et al. 2014 Aquatic Toxicology

Chemical pollution

Insidious form of environmental change

Pharmaceuticals

a growing threat

biologically active

Pharmaceuticals

enter the environment

Pharmaceuticals

Ecological Concerns

Environmentally persistent

Ecological Concerns

effects at low concentrations

Ecological Concerns

Widespread impacts on aquatic organisms

Ecological Concerns

Widespread impacts on aquatic organisms

Fluoxetinea drug of emerging concern

One of the most widely

prescribed antidepressants

Fluoxetine

Acts by inhibiting reuptake of the

neurotransmitter serotonin

Fluoxetine

Fluoxetine

Designed to induce

physiological & behavioural effects

Incomplete removal in

wastewater treatment

Fluoxetine

EnvironmentalEnvironmental concentrations

<1 – 929 ng/L (worldwide)

Sub-lethal effectsReduced offspring number

Sub-lethal effectsReduced aggression

Sub-lethal effectsImpaired growth

What about antipredator

behaviours?

Impact of fluoxetine exposure on

antipredator behaviours in eastern

mosquitofish

150

170

190

210

230

250

270

290

Control Low FLX High FLX

BAB

A

PredatorEmpty

Activity levels

0 ng/L 25 ng/L 200 ng/L

Low Flx exposed fish more active than unexposed fish

Activity (

grid

lin

es c

rossed

)

Martin et al. 2017 Environ Pollution

Control Low FLX High FLX0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Control Low FLX High FLXTota

l tim

e s

pent exhib

itin

g fre

eze (

sec)

A

B

A

B

A

B

Females Males

Freezing behaviour

Sex differences in effects of Flx on time spent freezing

Martin et al. 2017 Environ Pollution

Pharmaceutical pollutants

Human pharmaceuticals are

not the only concern

Ecological Concerns

effects at low concentrations

Trenbolonea hormonal growth promotant

Trenbolone

Widely used around the world (e.g. 60-90%

of beef cattle in USA)

Trenbolone

Potent androgen

Enters environment via livestock effluent

run off

Trenbolone

Environmental concentrations

<5 – 162 ng/L (worldwide)

Sub-lethal effectsSex reversal

What about reproductive behaviours?

Impact of trenbolone exposure on

reproductive behaviours in guppies

Impact of trenbolone exposure on

reproductive behaviours in guppies

Fre

quency o

f chases a

nd n

ips 24

12

0

Exposed males engaged in more chases and nips

Male competition

Tomkins et al. 2017 Chemosphere

Males performed less courtship towards exposed females

Court

sh

ip150

0

100

50

A

B

AB

B

Male courtship and sneakingBertram et al. 2015 Hormones & Behav

Males performed more sneaking on exposed females

Sneakin

g15

0

10

5A

B

C

D

Male courtship and sneakingBertram et al. 2015 Hormones & Behav

Male orange colouration

Associa

tion tim

e (

min

)15

10

5

0Low/Low High/High Low/High High/Low

Session 1

Session 2

Unexposed females spent less time associating with low

orange (unsexy) male after seeing a high orange (sexy) male

Female sexual responsiveness & choosiness

Tomkins et al. 2018 Environ Pollution

Male orange colouration

Associa

tion tim

e (

min

)15

10

5

0

Exposed females associated less with males and were less discerning

Female sexual responsiveness & choosiness

AA

AA A

A

AA

Low/Low High/High Low/High High/Low

Session 1

Session 2

Tomkins et al. 2018 Environ Pollution

Exposure to

pharmaceutical

pollutants can

disturb

ecologically

important

behaviours

conclusion

Monash University

Michael Bertram

Patrick Tomkins

Minna Saaristo

Marcus Michelangeli

Rowan Jacques-Hamilton

Chris Johnstone

University of Melbourne

Mayumi Allinson

Graeme Allinson

Jackie Myers

Vince Pettigrove

John Baumgartner

Department of Environment and Primary

Industries

Ray Tomkins

Boston University

Gil Rosenthal

Heidi Fisher

Osaka City Institute for Public Health and

Environmental Sciences

Atsushi Yamamoto

Thank you

BOBWONGLAB.ORG

@BBM_Wong