Exposure to agricultural pesticide impairs visual lateralization in a larval coral reef fish
Besson, M.; Gache, C.; Bertucci, F.; Brooker, R.M.; Roux, N.; Jacob, H.; Berthe, C.; Sovrano, V.A.; Dixson, D.L.; Lecchini, D. (2017). Exposure to agricultural pesticide impairs visual lateralization in a larval coral reef fish. NPG Scientific Reports 7: 9165. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-09381-0 In: Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group). Nature Publishing Group: London. ISSN 2045-2322; e-ISSN 2045-2322, more |   |
| Authors | | Top | - Besson, M.
- Gache, C.
- Bertucci, F., more
- Brooker, R.M.
| - Roux, N.
- Jacob, H.
- Berthe, C.
| - Sovrano, V.A.
- Dixson, D.L.
- Lecchini, D.
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| Abstract | Lateralization, i.e. the preferential use of one side of the body, may convey fitness benefits for organisms within rapidly-changing environments, by optimizing separate and parallel processing of different information between the two brain hemispheres. In coral reef-fishes, the movement of larvae from planktonic to reef environments (recruitment) represents a major life-history transition. This transition requires larvae to rapidly identify and respond to sensory cues to select a suitable habitat that facilitates survival and growth. This ‘recruitment’ is critical for population persistence and resilience. In aquarium experiments, larval Acanthurus triostegus preferentially used their right-eye to investigate a variety of visual stimuli. Despite this, when held in in situ cages with predators, those larvae that previously favored their left-eye exhibited higher survival. These results support the “brain’s right-hemisphere” theory, which predicts that the right-eye (i.e.left-hemisphere) is used to categorize stimuli while the left-eye (i.e.right-hemisphere) is used to inspect novel items and initiate rapid behavioral-responses. While these experiments confirm that being highly lateralized is ecologically advantageous, exposure to chlorpyrifos, a pesticide often inadvertently added to coral-reef waters, impaired visual-lateralization. This suggests that chemical pollutants could impair the brain function of larval fishes during a critical life-history transition, potentially impacting recruitment success. |
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