Risks to aquatic environments posed by 14 pharmaceuticals as illustrated by their effects on zebrafish behaviour

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 771; p. 145450
• Main Authors: Hong, Xiangsheng, Zhao, Gaofeng, Zhou, Yiqi, Chen, Rui, Li, Jiasu, Zha, Jinmiao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.06.2021
• Subjects: Animals; Behaviour; China; Ecosystem; Pharmaceutical; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Risk assessment; Sociability; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; Zebrafish; China; Zebrafish; Sociability; Pharmaceutical; Behaviour; Risk assessment
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145450

The presence of pharmaceutical residues in aquatic ecosystems is a worldwide problem that may pose serious threats and challenges to the environment, especially to the safety of aquatic biota. In the present study, we investigated the effects of 14 environmentally relevant pharmaceutical compounds on individual and collective-related behaviours in juvenile zebrafish (Danio rerio) for 21 days. The tested concentrations of the compounds spanned three orders of magnitude. This study also compared the potential risks of these compounds in Chinese surface waters based on the data on their toxic effects or only on behavioural effects. In the case of individual behaviours, most antidepressants, but not anti-inflammatory agents or blood lipid-lowering agents, decreased fish locomotor activity (LMA) and individual social activity (IDS); however, all three classes of compounds induced significant disruptions in the light/dark transition locomotor response (LMR-L/D) performance, even at lower treatment levels (0.1–1 μg/L). Furthermore, collective behaviour (CLB) analysis suggested that most of the compounds significantly altered the group sociability of fish and frequently occurred at environmentally relevant concentrations. Finally, a risk assessment suggested that the presence of ibuprofen, fluoxetine, and venlafaxine in the surface waters of China poses a relatively high risk to fish, regardless of the risk ranking based on the data of the toxic or behavioural effects. [Display omitted] •Antidepressants cause more broad-spectrum behaviour changes in zebrafish.•Effects on dark response patterns begin at 0.1 ppb during 21d exposure.•Collective behaviour is susceptible to the effects of pharmaceuticals.•The relative risk of ibuprofen, fluoxetine and venlafaxine was in the top.