Not Only Toxic but Repellent: What Can Organisms’ Responses Tell Us about Contamination and What Are the Ecological Consequences When They Flee from an Environment?
Metadatos
Mostrar el registro completo del ítemEditorial
MDPI
Materia
Avoidance Behavior Habitat selection Multi-compartmented systems Non-forced exposure Repellency
Fecha
2020-12-12Referencia bibliográfica
Araújo, C.V.M.; Laissaoui, A.; Silva, D.C.V.R.; Ramos-Rodríguez, E.; González-Ortegón, E.; Espíndola, E.L.G.; Baldó, F.; Mena, F.; Parra, G.; Blasco, J.; et al. Not Only Toxic but Repellent: What Can Organisms’ Responses Tell Us about Contamination and What Are the Ecological Consequences When They Flee from an Environment? Toxics 2020, 8, 118. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics8040118
Patrocinador
Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (RYC-2017-22324), (PID2019-105868RA-I00), (#CGL2017-92160-EXP); CSIC: #COOPB20444Resumen
The ability of aquatic organisms to sense the surrounding environment chemically and interpret such signals correctly is crucial for their ecological niche and survival. Although it is an oversimplification of the ecological interactions, we could consider that a significant part of the decisions taken by organisms are, to some extent, chemically driven. Accordingly, chemical contamination might interfere in the way organisms behave and interact with the environment. Just as any environmental factor, contamination can make a habitat less attractive or even unsuitable to accommodate life, conditioning to some degree the decision of organisms to stay in, or move from, an ecosystem. If we consider that contamination is not always spatially homogeneous and that many organisms can avoid it, the ability of contaminants to repel organisms should also be of concern. Thus, in this critical review, we have discussed the dual role of contamination: toxicity (disruption of
the physiological and behavioral homeostasis) vs. repellency (contamination-driven changes in spatial
distribution/habitat selection). The discussion is centered on methodologies (forced exposure against
non-forced multi-compartmented exposure systems) and conceptual improvements (individual
stress due to the toxic effects caused by a continuous exposure against contamination-driven spatial
distribution). Finally, we propose an approach in which Stress and Landscape Ecology could be
integrated with each other to improve our understanding of the threat contaminants represent to
aquatic ecosystems.