Meeting Abstract
Environmental contaminants, such as atrazine, are known to have a negative impact on olfactory-mediated behaviors in aquatic animals. Previous research in our lab has shown that an acute atrazine exposure has harmful effects on olfactory-mediated behavioral responses to both food odors in crayfish O. rusticus; however recovery of chemosensory abilities has not been examined. In this study, we determined if recovery of chemosensory abilities after exposure to sub-lethal, environmentally-relevant concentrations of atrazine was possible. Atrazine-treated crayfish (Orconectes virilis; N=13) were exposed to 80 ppb atrazine for 96 hours. We then analyzed the ability of the control and atrazine-treated crayfish to locate a food source using a Y-maze. We used Noldus Ethovision to compare the time spent in the food arm of the Y-maze, near the food source, as well as moving and walking speed of control and atrazine-treated crayfish. We also compared the number of crayfish that handled the food source and the amount of food consumed. Following 24, 48 and 72-hour recovery periods in fresh water, behavioral trials were repeated to determine if there was any observable recovery of chemosensory-mediated behaviors. Overall, we found that crayfish are not able to recover chemosensory abilities 72 hours post-atrazine exposure. Because crayfish are a keystone species and rely heavily on their chemosensory abilities to acquire food, long-lasting impacts on chemoreception post-atrazine exposure could impact fitness and population size.
