Anthropogenic pollutants have the potential to disrupt reproductive strategies. Little is known about how lead (Pb2+) exposure disrupts individual-level responses in reproductive behaviors, which are important for ...Anthropogenic pollutants have the potential to disrupt reproductive strategies. Little is known about how lead (Pb2+) exposure disrupts individual-level responses in reproductive behaviors, which are important for fitness. Drosophila melanogaster was used as a model system to deter- mine the effects of: 1) developmental lead exposure on pre-mating reproductive behaviors (i.e., mate preference), and 2) lead exposure and mating preferences on fitness in the F0 parental generation and F1 un-exposed offspring. Wild-type strains of D. melanogaster were reared from egg stage to adulthood in control or leaded medium (250 μM PbAc) and tested for differences in: mate preference, male song performance, sex pheromone expression, fecundity, mortality, and body weight. F0 leaded females preferentially mated with leaded males (i.e., asymmetrical positive assortative mating) in 2-choice tests. This positive assortative mating was mediated by the females (and not the males) and was dependent upon context and developmental exposure to Pb. Neither the courtship song nor the sex pheromone profile expressed by control and leaded males medi- ated the positive assortative mating in leaded females. Leaded females did not incur a fitness cost in terms of reduced fecundity, increased mortality, or decreased body weight by mating with leaded males. These results suggest that sublethal exposure to lead during development can alter mate preferences in adults, but not fitness measures once lead exposure has been removed. We suggest that changes in mate preference may induce fitness costs, as well as long-term population and multi-generational implications, if pollution is persistent in the environment.展开更多
The fields of behavioral ecology, conservation science, and environmental toxicology individually aim to protect and manage the conservation of wildlife in response to anthropogenic stressors, including widespread ant...The fields of behavioral ecology, conservation science, and environmental toxicology individually aim to protect and manage the conservation of wildlife in response to anthropogenic stressors, including widespread anthropogenic pollution. Although great emphasis in the field of toxicology has been placed on understanding how single pollutants affect survival, a comprehensive, interdis- ciplinary approach that includes behavioral ecology is essential to address how anthropogenic compounds are a risk for the survival of species and populations in an increasingly polluted world. We provide an integrative framework for behavioral ecotoxicology using Tinbergen's four postu- lates (causation and mechanism, development and ontogeny, function and fitness, and evolution- ary history and phylogenetic patterns). The aims of this review are: 1) to promote an integrative view and re-define the field of integrative behavioral ecotoxicology; 2) to demonstrate how study- ing ecotoxicology can promote behavior research; and 3) to identify areas of behavioral ecotoxicol- ogy that require further attention to promote the integration and growth of the field.展开更多
文摘Anthropogenic pollutants have the potential to disrupt reproductive strategies. Little is known about how lead (Pb2+) exposure disrupts individual-level responses in reproductive behaviors, which are important for fitness. Drosophila melanogaster was used as a model system to deter- mine the effects of: 1) developmental lead exposure on pre-mating reproductive behaviors (i.e., mate preference), and 2) lead exposure and mating preferences on fitness in the F0 parental generation and F1 un-exposed offspring. Wild-type strains of D. melanogaster were reared from egg stage to adulthood in control or leaded medium (250 μM PbAc) and tested for differences in: mate preference, male song performance, sex pheromone expression, fecundity, mortality, and body weight. F0 leaded females preferentially mated with leaded males (i.e., asymmetrical positive assortative mating) in 2-choice tests. This positive assortative mating was mediated by the females (and not the males) and was dependent upon context and developmental exposure to Pb. Neither the courtship song nor the sex pheromone profile expressed by control and leaded males medi- ated the positive assortative mating in leaded females. Leaded females did not incur a fitness cost in terms of reduced fecundity, increased mortality, or decreased body weight by mating with leaded males. These results suggest that sublethal exposure to lead during development can alter mate preferences in adults, but not fitness measures once lead exposure has been removed. We suggest that changes in mate preference may induce fitness costs, as well as long-term population and multi-generational implications, if pollution is persistent in the environment.
基金JPS was funded by the National Science Foundation (IOS1257590). The sym- posium from which this paper emerged was funded by the Animal Behavior Society.
文摘The fields of behavioral ecology, conservation science, and environmental toxicology individually aim to protect and manage the conservation of wildlife in response to anthropogenic stressors, including widespread anthropogenic pollution. Although great emphasis in the field of toxicology has been placed on understanding how single pollutants affect survival, a comprehensive, interdis- ciplinary approach that includes behavioral ecology is essential to address how anthropogenic compounds are a risk for the survival of species and populations in an increasingly polluted world. We provide an integrative framework for behavioral ecotoxicology using Tinbergen's four postu- lates (causation and mechanism, development and ontogeny, function and fitness, and evolution- ary history and phylogenetic patterns). The aims of this review are: 1) to promote an integrative view and re-define the field of integrative behavioral ecotoxicology; 2) to demonstrate how study- ing ecotoxicology can promote behavior research; and 3) to identify areas of behavioral ecotoxicol- ogy that require further attention to promote the integration and growth of the field.