Sammanfattning

It is now well-established that reproduction in wildlife can be disrupted by anthropogenic environmental changes, such as chemical pollution. However, very little is known about how these pollutants might affect the interplay between pre- and post-copulatory mechanisms of sexual selection. Here, we investigated the impacts of 21-day exposure of male eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) to a field-realistic level (average measured concentration: 11 ng/L) of the endocrine-disrupting chemical 17β-trenbolone (17β-TB) on pre- and post-copulatory reproductive traits. We examined male reproductive behaviour by testing the time spent near a female behind a partition, as well as the number of copulation attempts made, and the time spent chasing a female in a free-swimming context. Sperm traits were also assayed for all males. We found that exposure of male fish to 17β-TB altered the relationship between key pre- and post-copulatory reproductive traits. Furthermore, 17β-TB-exposed males had, on average, a higher percentage of motile sperm, and performed fewer copulation attempts than unexposed males. However, there was no overall effect of 17β-TB exposure on either the time males spent associating with or chasing females. Taken together, our findings demonstrate the potential for chemical pollutants to affect both pre- and post-copulatory sexual traits, and the interplay between these mechanisms of sexual selection in contaminated wildlife.

Nyckelord

Androgen; Behavioural ecotoxicology; Endocrine-disrupting chemical; Hormonal growth promotant; Sperm; Trenbolone

Publicerad i

Science of the Total Environment
2021, Volym: 790, artikelnummer: 148028

SLU författare

• Bertram, Michael

  • Institutionen för vilt, fisk och miljö, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    
  • Monash University

Globala målen

Bevara och nyttja haven och de marina resurserna på ett hållbart sätt för en hållbar utveckling


UKÄ forskningsämne

Miljövetenskap


Publikationens identifierare

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148028

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/112361