Lead has different impacts on behavior of the native Mexican mojarra and invasive convict cichlid.

Our objective was to determine the effect of lead (Pb) on the behavior of the Mexican mojarra, which is native to the Balsas River basin, and the convict cichlid, which is an exotic invasive there. Both fish species were exposed to Pb, followed by Pb depuration, to evaluate its impacts on behavior. We evaluated swimming activity, predation attempts, prey consumed, foraging efficiency, and aggressive behaviors. The behavioral effects of Pb differed between the two species. While swimming activity decreased in both species during Pb exposure, swimming activity recovered during the Pb depuration period in the convict cichlid, but not in the Mexican mojarra. In both species, the total predation attempts and prey consumed increased during exposure to Pb and remained elevated during Pb depuration. Pb did not affect the foraging efficiency or number of aggressive behaviors of the convict cichlid. In contrast, the foraging efficiency of the Mexican mojarra decreased with Pb exposure and remained low during Pb depuration, and the number of aggressive behaviors increased under Pb exposure and remained elevated during Pb depuration. Pb exposure affected Mexican mojarra more strongly than the convict cichlid, which could induce changes in the ecological relationships between these species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]