1. Warmer temperature overrides the effects of antidepressants on amphibian metamorphosis and behavior.
- Author
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Fong PP, Doganoglu A, Sandt EV, and Turbeville SD
- Subjects
- Animals, Humans, Temperature, Venlafaxine Hydrochloride pharmacology, Ranidae physiology, Larva, Metamorphosis, Biological, Antidepressive Agents pharmacology, Fluoxetine, Environmental Pollutants pharmacology
- Abstract
Climate change can exacerbate the effects of environmental pollutants on aquatic organisms. Pollutants such as human antidepressants released from wastewater treatment plants have been shown to impact life-history traits of amphibians. We exposed tadpoles of the wood frog Lithobates sylvaticus to two temperatures (20 °C and 25 °C) and two antidepressants (fluoxetine and venlafaxine), and measured timing of metamorphosis, mass at metamorphosis, and two behaviors (startle response and percent motionless). Antidepressants significantly shortened time to metamorphosis at 20 °C, but not at 25 °C. At 25 °C, tadpoles metamorphosed significantly faster than those at 20 °C independent of antidepressant exposure. Venlafaxine reduced body mass at 25 °C, but not at 20 °C. Temperature and antidepressant exposure affected the percent of tadpoles showing a startle response. Tadpoles at 20 °C displayed significantly more responses than at 25 °C. Exposure to fluoxetine also increased the percent of tadpoles showing a startle response. Venlafaxine reduced the percent of motionless tadpoles at 25 °C but not at 20 °C. While our results showed that antidepressants can affect the timing of metamorphosis in tadpoles, warmer temperatures overrode these effects and caused a reduction in an important reaction behavior (startle response). Future studies should address how warmer global temperatures may exacerbate or negate the effects of environmental pollutants., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)
- Published
- 2023
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