EAPSI: Impacts of Levels of a Pesticide Mixture on Hormones and Behavior in the World?s only Self-Fertilizing Fish

红树林鳉鱼是唯一一种能自我受精的脊椎动物，它可以作为环境污染的一个指标，表明野生红树林栖息地正在消失。本研究将利用一种新的实验方法分析红树林鳉鱼（K. marmoratus）的行为和激素反应表型的灵活性，探索不同时间暴露于杀虫剂、杀菌剂和除草剂的生物和环境相关水平的混合物中对攻击行为、竞争动态、睾丸激素(T)和皮质醇(F)的影响。该研究将与台湾台北国立师范大学的徐玉英博士合作进行。徐的实验室里饲养着圈养的红树林杀鱼，为国际合作提供了一个独特的机会。本研究是对高尔夫球场活鸟行为和激素研究的补充。以鳉鱼为模型，台湾的研究将检验在这个和其他高尔夫球场普遍使用的农药混合物如何影响行为和激素，以扩展我的论文工作。这项研究可能会告诉我们目前认为对生理影响最小的污染物水平的影响（如果有的话）。研究一个独特的物种，同时促进与世界领先的科学研究的国际合作，将对我的个人和职业发展有价值。对红树林鳉鱼的攻击行为、睾酮和皮质醇之间的遗传控制与对同种冲突的反应之间的可预测关系进行了很好的研究。这为控制基因变异提供了有价值且难以实现的方法，基因变异通常被认为是导致激素-行为关系中个体差异的原因。实验设计是独特的，因为鱼将暴露在环境相关水平的农药混合物中。暴露时间短（7天），间隔长（14天）；虽然传统方法通常使用较短的暴露周期，但与自然体验相比，这是不现实的。暴露后测量攻击性、睾酮和皮质醇也偏离了实验室污染物研究中测量的传统终点。通过利用新的动物模型和毒理学终点，与生物学方法相一致，并考虑多种污染物的协同影响，可以从现实的角度看待污染物对生理和行为的敏感影响。结合行为内分泌学和毒理学的跨学科方法对于了解污染物如何影响行为和激素特征，并最终影响人类和野生动物种群的健康是必要的。该奖项隶属于东亚及太平洋暑期研究所项目，由美国国家科学基金会和台湾科技部共同资助，支持美国研究生的暑期研究。

The only self-fertilizing vertebrate, the mangrove killifish, serves as an indicator of environmental pollution in disappearing wild mangrove habitat. The research will explore varying lengths of exposure to biologically and environmentally relevant levels of mixtures of insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides on aggressive behavior, contest dynamics, testosterone (T), and cortisol (F) in the mangrove killifish (K. marmoratus) utilizing a novel experimental approach analyzing flexibility in behavioral and hormonal response phenotypes. The research will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Yuying Hsu of National Normal Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan. The Hsu lab houses captive populations of the mangrove killfish, offering a unique opportunity for international collaboration. The research augments dissertation research examining behavior and hormones in golf course living birds. Using the killifish as a model, the research in Taiwan will examine how pesticide mixtures commonly in use at this, and other, golf courses may influence behavior and hormones expanding upon my dissertation work. This research may inform on impacts (if any) of levels of contaminants currently thought to have minimal physiological impacts. Studying a unique species while fostering international collaboration with a world leader in scientific research will be valuable to my personal and professional development. Genetic control with predictable relationships between aggressive behavior, testosterone, and cortisol regarding responses to conspecific conflict are well studied in the mangrove killifish. This provides valuable and difficult to achieve control of genetic variation, often thought responsible for individual variation in hormone-behavior relationships. The experimental design is unique, as fish will be exposed to environmentally relevant levels of a pesticide mixture. Exposure will occur for short (7 days) and long intervals (14 days); while traditional methodology typically uses shorter exposure periods this is unrealistic compared to what is experienced naturally. Measuring aggression, testosterone, and cortisol after exposure also deviates from traditional endpoints measured in laboratory contaminant studies. By utilizing novel animal models and toxicological endpoints, in concert with biological methodology, and accounting for synergistic impacts of multiple contaminants, a realistic perspective concerning sensitive impacts of contaminants on physiology and behavior is possible. Interdisciplinary approaches combining behavioral endocrinology and toxicology are necessary for understanding how contaminants may impact behavioral and hormonal profiles, and ultimately, the health of human and wildlife populations.This award under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan.