Anthropogenic stressors impact fish sensory development and survival via thyroid disruption

Marc Besson (1) , William E Feeney (2) , Isadora Moniz (1) , Loïc François (1) , Rohan M Brooker (3) , Guillaume Holzer (4) , Marc Metian (5) , Natacha Roux (1, 6) , Vincent Laudet (6, 7) , David Lecchini (1, 8)

1 CRIOBE - Centre de recherches insulaires et observatoire de l'environnement
2 Centre for Marine Science, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland
3 Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences
4 Inflammasome NLRP3 – NLRP3 Inflammasome
5 IAEA-EL - International Atomic Energy Agency - Environment Laboratories Monaco
6 BIOM - Biologie intégrative des organismes marins
7 OIST - Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
8 LabEX CORAIL - Laboratoire d'Excellence CORAIL

Larval metamorphosis and recruitment represent critical life-history transitions for most teleost fishes. While the detrimental effects of anthropogenic stressors on the behavior and survival of recruiting fishes are well-documented, the physiological mechanisms that underpin these patterns remain unclear. Here, we use pharmacological treatments to highlight the role that thyroid hormones (TH) play in sensory development and determining anti-predator responses in metamorphosing convict surgeonfish, Acanthurus triostegus. We then show that high doses of a physical stressor (increased temperature of +3 °C) and a chemical stressor (the pesticide chlorpyrifos at 30 μg L −1 ) induced similar defects by decreasing fish TH levels and affecting their sensory development. Stressor-exposed fish experienced higher predation; however, their ability to avoid predation improved when they received supplemental TH. Our results highlight that two different anthropogenic stressors can affect critical developmental and ecological transitions via the same physiological pathway. This finding provides a unifying mechanism to explain past results and underlines the profound threat anthropogenic stressors pose to fish communities.

Domaines: Biodiversité et Ecologie

Marc Besson, William E Feeney, Isadora Moniz, Loïc François, Rohan M Brooker, et al.. Anthropogenic stressors impact fish sensory development and survival via thyroid disruption. Nature Communications, 2020, 11 (1), ⟨10.1038/s41467-020-17450-8⟩. ⟨hal-02923717⟩