Direct and indirect effects of chemical contaminants on the behaviour, ecology and evolution of wildlife.

ABSTRACT: Chemical contaminants (e.g. metals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals) are changing ecosystems via effects on wildlife. Indeed, recent work explicitly performed under environmentally realistic conditions reveals that chemical contaminants can have both direct and indirect effects at multiple levels of organization by influencing animal behaviour. Altered behaviour reflects multiple physiological changes and links individual- to population-level processes, thereby representing a sensitive tool for holistically assessing impacts of environmentally relevant contaminant concentrations. Here, we show that even if direct effects of contaminants on behavioural responses are reasonably well documented, there are significant knowledge gaps in understanding both the plasticity (i.e. individual variation)

SUBMITTER: Saaristo M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6125903 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature