Behavioral Toxicology Laboratory -- Columbia, Missouri. Swimming paths of control (left) and copper (right) exposed fish
Behavioral Toxicology Core Technology Team Active
Attractance Behavior of Asian Carp when Food Stimulus is Introduced
A rack of eight aquaria used for behavior modification studies
Video recording setup from an experimental swimming behavior assay
About the Research.
The Environmental Health Program supports scientists in the Behavioral Toxicology Core Technology Team (CTT) at the Columbia Environmental Research Center. The scientists identify how contaminants alter the behavior of organisms and what implication those changes may have on individuals, populations, and communities.
Behavioral methodology is becoming increasingly important in assessing the health and viability of natural populations to understand the challenges posed by natural stressors and to support conservation and recovery efforts.
Sublethal toxicity testing and sensitive whole organism endpoints, like behavior and neuromotor function, are of emerging importance in the field of ecotoxicology. Behavioral responses are mediated through the integration of neural, neuroendocrine and neuromuscular signals, contributing to complex and highly variable inter-individual responses in exposed organisms. These overarching themes in the field of animal behavior can be universally applied across toxicological agents, model organisms, organism life stage and endpoints.
The Behavioral Toxicology CTT has utilized its behavioral expertise and facilities to study a wide range of questions related to behavior directly related to contaminants - providing tools to better understand the effects of contaminants on behavior and how they might translate to effects on growth, reproduction, and population size.
Key Instrumentation and Capabilities
- Laboratory dedicated to behavior research
- Two proportional diluters equipped with high-definition cameras for quantifying swimming activity across chemical concentration gradients
- Five (3 small and 2 large) respirometers for measuring swimming performance
- Five countercurrent avoidance chambers for characterizing avoidance or attractance to stimuli
- Electro-olfactogram recordings (olfactory cues)
- High-throughput chamber for tracking behavior of small organisms
Current Science Questions and Activities
- International collaboration to standardize the zebrafish dark/light transition test.
- What effects do algal toxins have on fish health including sublethal and behavioral endpoints?
- What effects does thiamine deficiency have on fish behavior and can these effects be reversed with supplementation?
- Does carbamazepine, an anticonvulsant pharmaceutical, alter fish eye development and behavior?
Environmental Health Integrated Science Team Collaborators
-
Fishing and Hunting Integrated Science Team
The Fishing and Hunting integrated science team focuses on contaminant and pathogen exposures in the environment that could impact the presence and vitality of fish and wildlife populations that drive commercial, recreational and subsistence activities such as hunting and fishing. If actual risks are identified this project will inform how to economically and effectively minimize risk by providing...Energy Integrated Science Team
The Energy Lifecycle Integrated Science Team focuses on the potential for contaminant exposures in the environment that might originate from energy resource activities including, extraction, production, transportation, storage, extraction, waste management and restoration. Perceived health risks to humans and other organisms will be distinguished from actual risks, if any. If actual risks are...Minerals Science Team
The Minerals Integrated Science Team focuses on contaminant exposures in the environment that might originate from mineral resource activities including, transportation, storage, extraction and waste management. Perceived health risks to humans and other organisms will be distinguished from actual risks, if any. If actual risks are identified the science produced by this team can inform how to...Toxins and Harmful Algal Blooms Science Team
The team develops advanced methods to study factors driving algal toxin production, how and where wildlife or humans are exposed to toxins, and ecotoxicology. That information is used to develop decision tools to understand if toxin exposure leads to adverse health effects in order to protect human and wildlife health.
Science activities related to the Behavioral Toxicology Core Technology Team can be found below.
Do Trace Metal Concentrations in the Upper Columbia River Affect Early Life Stage White Sturgeon?
Clothianidin Exposure Associated with Changes in Tadpole Behavior
Data related to the Behavioral Toxicology Core Technology Team can be found below.
Behavioral Effects of Copper on Larval White Sturgeon
Behavioral Toxicology Laboratory -- Columbia, Missouri. Swimming paths of control (left) and copper (right) exposed fish
Behavioral Toxicology Laboratory — Columbia, Missouri. Screen shot of a computer monitor from a video recording setup from a swimming behavior experimental swimming behavior assay system. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists can record swimming activity of multiple treatments simultaneously in the swimming behavior assay.
Behavioral Toxicology Laboratory — Columbia, Missouri. Screen shot of a computer monitor from a video recording setup from a swimming behavior experimental swimming behavior assay system. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists can record swimming activity of multiple treatments simultaneously in the swimming behavior assay.
Scientific publications related to the Behavioral Toxicology Core Technology Team can be found below.
Ammonia and aquatic ecosystems – A review of global sources, biogeochemical cycling, and effects on fish
Copper concentrations in the upper Columbia River as a limiting factor in White Sturgeon recruitment and recovery
Effects of the neonicotinoid insecticide clothianidin on southern leopard frog (Rana sphenocephala) tadpole behavior
Behavioral effects of copper on larval white sturgeon
Potential toxicity of dissolved metal mixtures (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn) to early life stage white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) in the Upper Columbia River, Washington, United States
Sensitivity of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) early life stages to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-P-dioxin and 3,3′,4,4′,5-pentachlorobiphenyl
Quantifying fish swimming behavior in response to acute exposure of aqueous copper using computer assisted video and digital image analysis
Acute sensitivity of white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to copper, cadmium, or zinc in water-only laboratory exposures
- Overview
About the Research.
The Environmental Health Program supports scientists in the Behavioral Toxicology Core Technology Team (CTT) at the Columbia Environmental Research Center. The scientists identify how contaminants alter the behavior of organisms and what implication those changes may have on individuals, populations, and communities.
Behavioral methodology is becoming increasingly important in assessing the health and viability of natural populations to understand the challenges posed by natural stressors and to support conservation and recovery efforts.
Sublethal toxicity testing and sensitive whole organism endpoints, like behavior and neuromotor function, are of emerging importance in the field of ecotoxicology. Behavioral responses are mediated through the integration of neural, neuroendocrine and neuromuscular signals, contributing to complex and highly variable inter-individual responses in exposed organisms. These overarching themes in the field of animal behavior can be universally applied across toxicological agents, model organisms, organism life stage and endpoints.
The Behavioral Toxicology CTT has utilized its behavioral expertise and facilities to study a wide range of questions related to behavior directly related to contaminants - providing tools to better understand the effects of contaminants on behavior and how they might translate to effects on growth, reproduction, and population size.
Key Instrumentation and Capabilities
- Laboratory dedicated to behavior research
- Two proportional diluters equipped with high-definition cameras for quantifying swimming activity across chemical concentration gradients
- Five (3 small and 2 large) respirometers for measuring swimming performance
- Five countercurrent avoidance chambers for characterizing avoidance or attractance to stimuli
- Electro-olfactogram recordings (olfactory cues)
- High-throughput chamber for tracking behavior of small organisms
Current Science Questions and Activities
- International collaboration to standardize the zebrafish dark/light transition test.
- What effects do algal toxins have on fish health including sublethal and behavioral endpoints?
- What effects does thiamine deficiency have on fish behavior and can these effects be reversed with supplementation?
- Does carbamazepine, an anticonvulsant pharmaceutical, alter fish eye development and behavior?
Environmental Health Integrated Science Team Collaborators-
Fishing and Hunting Integrated Science Team
The Fishing and Hunting integrated science team focuses on contaminant and pathogen exposures in the environment that could impact the presence and vitality of fish and wildlife populations that drive commercial, recreational and subsistence activities such as hunting and fishing. If actual risks are identified this project will inform how to economically and effectively minimize risk by providing...Energy Integrated Science Team
The Energy Lifecycle Integrated Science Team focuses on the potential for contaminant exposures in the environment that might originate from energy resource activities including, extraction, production, transportation, storage, extraction, waste management and restoration. Perceived health risks to humans and other organisms will be distinguished from actual risks, if any. If actual risks are...Minerals Science Team
The Minerals Integrated Science Team focuses on contaminant exposures in the environment that might originate from mineral resource activities including, transportation, storage, extraction and waste management. Perceived health risks to humans and other organisms will be distinguished from actual risks, if any. If actual risks are identified the science produced by this team can inform how to...Toxins and Harmful Algal Blooms Science Team
The team develops advanced methods to study factors driving algal toxin production, how and where wildlife or humans are exposed to toxins, and ecotoxicology. That information is used to develop decision tools to understand if toxin exposure leads to adverse health effects in order to protect human and wildlife health.
- Science
Science activities related to the Behavioral Toxicology Core Technology Team can be found below.
Do Trace Metal Concentrations in the Upper Columbia River Affect Early Life Stage White Sturgeon?
To understand if contaminants are associated with white sturgeon population declines, U.S. Geological Survey scientists reviewed the life history, physiology, and behavior of white sturgeon, along with recent toxicological studies and existing trace metal data for locations in the Columbia River. The analysis indicated that the highest concentrations of copper and other metals in the Columbia...Clothianidin Exposure Associated with Changes in Tadpole Behavior
During a laboratory exposure study, tadpole movement decreased with increased concentrations of clothianidin, a neonicotinoid pesticide. Decreased movement could affect a tadpole’s ability to forage, escape predation, and metamorphose before ponds dry. - Data
Data related to the Behavioral Toxicology Core Technology Team can be found below.
Behavioral Effects of Copper on Larval White Sturgeon
Attributes regarding the effects of copper exposure on larval white sturgeon swimming and feeding behaviors and time to response. - Multimedia
Behavioral Toxicology Laboratory -- Columbia, MissouriBehavioral Toxicology Laboratory -- Columbia, Missouri
Behavioral Toxicology Laboratory -- Columbia, Missouri. Swimming paths of control (left) and copper (right) exposed fish
Behavioral Toxicology Laboratory -- Columbia, Missouri. Swimming paths of control (left) and copper (right) exposed fish
Video recording setup from a swimming behavior assay systemVideo recording setup from a swimming behavior assay systemBehavioral Toxicology Laboratory — Columbia, Missouri. Screen shot of a computer monitor from a video recording setup from a swimming behavior experimental swimming behavior assay system. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists can record swimming activity of multiple treatments simultaneously in the swimming behavior assay.
Behavioral Toxicology Laboratory — Columbia, Missouri. Screen shot of a computer monitor from a video recording setup from a swimming behavior experimental swimming behavior assay system. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists can record swimming activity of multiple treatments simultaneously in the swimming behavior assay.
- Publications
Scientific publications related to the Behavioral Toxicology Core Technology Team can be found below.
Ammonia and aquatic ecosystems – A review of global sources, biogeochemical cycling, and effects on fish
The purpose of this review is to better understand the full life cycle and influence of ammonia from an aquatic biology perspective. While ammonia has toxic properties in water and air, it also plays a central role in the biogeochemical nitrogen (N) cycle and regulates mechanisms of normal and abnormal fish physiology. Additionally, as the second most synthesized chemical on Earth, ammonia contribAuthorsThea Margaret Edwards, Holly J. Puglis, Jonathan Lopez Duran, Lillian Bradshaw, Douglas B. Kent, Aida FaragCopper concentrations in the upper Columbia River as a limiting factor in White Sturgeon recruitment and recovery
Currently there is little natural recruitment of white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) in the Upper Columbia River located in British Columbia, Canada and Washington, USA. This review of life history, physiology, and behavior of white sturgeon, along with data from recent toxicological studies, suggest that trace metals, especially Cu, affect survival and behavior of early life stage fish. SturgAuthorsHolly J. Puglis, Aida Farag, Christopher A. MebaneEffects of the neonicotinoid insecticide clothianidin on southern leopard frog (Rana sphenocephala) tadpole behavior
Neonicotinoid insecticides are highly water soluble with relatively long half-lives, which allows them to move into and persist in aquatic ecosystems. However, little is known of the impacts of neonicotinoids on non-target vertebrates, especially at sublethal concentrations. We evaluated the effects of the neonicotinoid clothianidin on the behavior of southern leopard frog tadpoles (Rana sphenocepAuthorsJ. N. Holtswarth, F. E. Rowland, Holly J. Puglis, Michelle Hladik, Elisabeth B. WebbBehavioral effects of copper on larval white sturgeon
Early–life stage white sturgeon are sensitive to copper (Cu), with adverse behavioral responses observed during previous studies. The objectives of the present study were to quantify the effects of Cu exposure on white sturgeon swimming and feeding behaviors and determine their time to response. Larval sturgeon (1–2, 28, or 35 d posthatch [dph]) were exposed to Cu (0.5–8 μg/L) for 4 to 14 d. AbnorAuthorsHolly J. Puglis, Robin Calfee, Edward E. LittlePotential toxicity of dissolved metal mixtures (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn) to early life stage white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) in the Upper Columbia River, Washington, United States
The Upper Columbia River (UCR) received historical releases of smelter waste resulting in elevated metal concentrations in downstream sediments. Newly hatched white sturgeon hide within the rocky substrate at the sediment–water interface in the UCR for a few weeks before swim-up. Hiding behavior could expose them to metal contaminants, and metal toxicity could contribute to population declines inAuthorsLaurie S. Balistrieri, Christopher A. Mebane, Stephen E. Cox, Holly J. Puglis, Robin Calfee, Ning WangSensitivity of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) early life stages to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-P-dioxin and 3,3′,4,4′,5-pentachlorobiphenyl
The aquatic food web of the Great Lakes has been contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) since the mid-20th century. Threats of PCB exposures to long-lived species of fish, such as lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens), have been uncertain because of a lack of information on the relative sensitivity of the species. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the sensitivity of earAuthorsDonald E. Tillitt, Justin A. Buckler, Diane Nicks, James Candrl, Rachel Claunch, Robert W. Gale, Holly J. Puglis, Edward E. Little, Tiffany L. Linbo, Mary BakerQuantifying fish swimming behavior in response to acute exposure of aqueous copper using computer assisted video and digital image analysis
Behavioral responses of aquatic organisms to environmental contaminants can be precursors of other effects such as survival, growth, or reproduction. However, these responses may be subtle, and measurement can be challenging. Using juvenile white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) with copper exposures, this paper illustrates techniques used for quantifying behavioral responses using computer assiAuthorsRobin Calfee, Holly J. Puglis, Edward E. Little, William G. Brumbaugh, Christopher A. MebaneAcute sensitivity of white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to copper, cadmium, or zinc in water-only laboratory exposures
The acute toxicity of cadmium, copper, and zinc to white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were determined for 7 developmental life stages in flow-through water-only exposures. Metal toxicity varied by species and by life stage. Rainbow trout were more sensitive to cadmium than white sturgeon across all life stages, with median effect concentrations (hardneAuthorsRobin Calfee, Edward E. Little, Holly J. Puglis, Erinn L. Scott, William G. Brumbaugh, Christopher A. Mebane