Copper pollutants in water hamper the ability of fish to detect danger signals, finds a new study by researchers from the University of Lethbridge in Canada.
Water pollution has damaged the habitats of many marine creatures. A new study finds that this may not be the only problem water pollution causes. According to researchers from the University of Lethbridge in Canada, copper pollutants present in water hamper a fish's ability to detect danger signals emitted by other fish in the same contaminated water.
Dr Bill Dew at the University of Lethbridge in Canada conducted this study to look into how metal pollutants in water bodies affect a fish's ability to detect and swim away from an odor released by other fish of the same species when a predator attacks.
For the study, Drew employed a technique used to measure a fish's response to odor. He found that nickel and copper generally affect a cell's ability to detect odors. Drew and his team observed various predator avoidance techniques and noticed that fathead minnows exposed to copper do not avoid a conspecific (fish of the same species)skin extract, while unexposed and nickel-exposed fish do.
"This means that fish in an environment contaminated with copper would not be able to detect compounds released during a predation event and potentially not avoid predators, while fish in a nickel contaminated environment would be able to detect these compounds and undertake predator-avoidance behaviors," Drew concluded in a press release.
The findings of the study were presented at a meeting of the Society for Experimental Biology, July 5.
