Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Impacts of an anxiolytic drug on fish behaviour and habitat use in a natural landscape

Sandoval Herrera, Natalia ; Mccallum, Erin S. ; Baktoft, Henrik LU ; Brönmark, Christer LU ; Cerveny, Daniel ; Hansson, Lars Anders LU orcid ; Hellström, Gustav ; Hulthén, Kaj LU ; Nilsson, Anders Peter LU orcid and Brodin, Tomas (2025) In Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 292(2054).
Abstract

Pharmaceutical contaminants reaching natural aquatic ecosystems can affect fish behaviour, modifying activity patterns, foraging behaviour and antipredator responses. While laboratory-based studies can offer key insights, assessing the ecological relevance of these findings requires field-based approaches. Therefore, we examined the effects of oxazepam, a widely prescribed anxiolytic drug, on the behaviour of a cyprinid fish (the common roach, Rutilus rutilus) in the wild, combining slow-release exposure implants with continuous tracking via acoustic telemetry. To add ecological realism, we created a landscape of fear with an uneven distribution of resources (macrophytes) and exposure to predators (pike, Esox lucius), additionally... (More)

Pharmaceutical contaminants reaching natural aquatic ecosystems can affect fish behaviour, modifying activity patterns, foraging behaviour and antipredator responses. While laboratory-based studies can offer key insights, assessing the ecological relevance of these findings requires field-based approaches. Therefore, we examined the effects of oxazepam, a widely prescribed anxiolytic drug, on the behaviour of a cyprinid fish (the common roach, Rutilus rutilus) in the wild, combining slow-release exposure implants with continuous tracking via acoustic telemetry. To add ecological realism, we created a landscape of fear with an uneven distribution of resources (macrophytes) and exposure to predators (pike, Esox lucius), additionally testing the effects of the drug on roach habitat selection and predator-prey interactions. Fish exposed to the drug showed an increased swimming activity and speed, but exhibited a more constrained spatial distribution in the pond, favouring areas with higher refuge availability. Both exposed and unexposed fish modified their habitat use in the presence of predators. Exposed fish appeared to get closer to the predators when these were caged, but not when predators were free-roaming. Our findings highlight the importance of considering ecological context to understand how pharmaceuticals affect fish behaviour, which is crucial for assessing risks at population and ecosystem levels.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
behaviour, benzodiazepine, fish, home range, oxazepam, predation, telemetry
in
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
volume
292
issue
2054
article number
20251443
publisher
Royal Society Publishing
external identifiers
  • scopus:105015402864
  • pmid:40925568
ISSN
0962-8452
DOI
10.1098/rspb.2025.1443
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ef708a2b-3804-4ef7-813b-a02741ba5412
date added to LUP
2025-10-15 11:33:40
date last changed
2025-10-29 12:34:28
@article{ef708a2b-3804-4ef7-813b-a02741ba5412,
  abstract     = {{<p>Pharmaceutical contaminants reaching natural aquatic ecosystems can affect fish behaviour, modifying activity patterns, foraging behaviour and antipredator responses. While laboratory-based studies can offer key insights, assessing the ecological relevance of these findings requires field-based approaches. Therefore, we examined the effects of oxazepam, a widely prescribed anxiolytic drug, on the behaviour of a cyprinid fish (the common roach, Rutilus rutilus) in the wild, combining slow-release exposure implants with continuous tracking via acoustic telemetry. To add ecological realism, we created a landscape of fear with an uneven distribution of resources (macrophytes) and exposure to predators (pike, Esox lucius), additionally testing the effects of the drug on roach habitat selection and predator-prey interactions. Fish exposed to the drug showed an increased swimming activity and speed, but exhibited a more constrained spatial distribution in the pond, favouring areas with higher refuge availability. Both exposed and unexposed fish modified their habitat use in the presence of predators. Exposed fish appeared to get closer to the predators when these were caged, but not when predators were free-roaming. Our findings highlight the importance of considering ecological context to understand how pharmaceuticals affect fish behaviour, which is crucial for assessing risks at population and ecosystem levels.</p>}},
  author       = {{Sandoval Herrera, Natalia and Mccallum, Erin S. and Baktoft, Henrik and Brönmark, Christer and Cerveny, Daniel and Hansson, Lars Anders and Hellström, Gustav and Hulthén, Kaj and Nilsson, Anders Peter and Brodin, Tomas}},
  issn         = {{0962-8452}},
  keywords     = {{behaviour; benzodiazepine; fish; home range; oxazepam; predation; telemetry}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2054}},
  publisher    = {{Royal Society Publishing}},
  series       = {{Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences}},
  title        = {{Impacts of an anxiolytic drug on fish behaviour and habitat use in a natural landscape}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.1443}},
  doi          = {{10.1098/rspb.2025.1443}},
  volume       = {{292}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}