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.
Exposure to agricultural pesticide impairs visual lateralization in a larval coral reef fish / Besson, Marc; Gache, Camille; Bertucci, Frédéric; Brooker, Rohan M.; Roux, Natacha; Jacob, Hugo; Berthe, Cécile; Sovrano, Valeria Anna; Dixson, Danielle L.; Lecchini, David. - In: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. - ISSN 2045-2322. - ELETTRONICO. - 2017:7(2017), pp. 1-9. [10.1038/s41598-017-09381-0]
Exposure to agricultural pesticide impairs visual lateralization in a larval coral reef fish
Sovrano, Valeria Anna;
2017-01-01
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.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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Besson et al., 2017 - Exposure to agricultural pesticide impairs visual lateralization in a larval coral reef fish.pdf
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