engleski

Application of chemical risk assessment in invasive species research: the role of pollution as a modulator of invasion success

The interactive effects of myrad of chemicals in aquatic environments on invasion rates and success are currently poorly understood. There is little empirical evidence of long-term effects of contaminants at environmental concentrations on behavioral and physiological responses in key aquatic invaders such as the signal crayfish. We applied chemical risk assessment approaches and tools to study potential impacts of contaminants on aquatic invaders. We applied the adverse outcome pathway framework (AOP) that organizes knowledge about mechanistic relationships between initial chemical-biological interactions (e.g. serotonin transporter inhibition), intermediary key events (e.g. increased serotonin receptor stimulation), and adverse outcomes (e.g. changes in activity or aggression). We used the AOP framework to prioritize chemicals of emerging concern (CEC) to further test for their potential effects on behavioral traits (aggression) in invasive signal crayfish.For this, we analyzed 34 water samples from 13 sites along the whole Sava River section in Croatia for the presence of 549 organic contaminants (OCs). Out of the 184 OCs detected in our samples, we querried those with modes of action related to serotonergic system as it has well described connections with crayfish behavior/aggression. By using available databases (ToxCast), we identified those chemicals which target either serotonine receptors or serotonine transporters. We further predicted the expected biological activity of the identified chemicals based on exposure-activity ratios (EARs), which integrate chemical occurence with toxicity data from the ToxCast database. For the final prioritization list, the results of all querries were overlaped with ECOTOXicology knowledgebase to identify whether selected chemicals have established effects on crayfsh/crustacean behavior. Based on these analyses, we identified citalopram, an antidepressant drug, and BPA, used in polycarbonate plastics production, for further testing on behavioral responses in key aquatic invaders. We discuss the opportunities and challenges for using ecotoxicological tools in invasion biology research

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