Understanding plasticity and the ecological relevance of behavioural responses in fish to neuroactive pharmaceutical

野生动物暴露于各种低浓度（十亿分之一或万亿分之一）的人类药物中，在神经活性药物的情况下，已被证明会引起鱼类和无脊椎动物行为表型的变化。这些发现通常是基于短期的实验室研究，重点是检测一种行为反应，目前尚不清楚反应是短暂的、永久的还是对生长、繁殖或生存有影响的。这个学生的目标是描述和联系斑马鱼在关键药物驱动下的行为表型和表型可塑性变化的神经反应。部分和全生命周期暴露研究将用于评估不同药物暴露在不同生命阶段对不同遗传品系的分子机制、行为影响和适应性影响。该学生将加入埃克塞特大学一个庞大而充满活力的研究团队，并将作为一个更广泛的欧洲项目的一部分，专注于了解药物对环境的影响。学生还将获得埃克塞特大学卓越的设施和专业知识，并将接受动物行为、分子生物学、成像、生物信息学和毒理学方面的培训。学生还将受益于与阿斯利康的行业专家一起工作，从而大大提高他们的长期职业前景。

Wildlife are exposed to a wide range of human pharmaceuticals at low (part per billion or trillion) concentrations, which in the case of neuroactive pharmaceuticals have been shown to induce changes in behavioural phenotypes in fish and invertebrates. These findings are generally based on short-term laboratory studies that focus on detecting a behavioural response and it is unclear if responses are transient, permanent or impactful on growth, reproduction or survival. This studentship will aim to characterise and link neurological responses to changes in behavioural phenotypes and phenotypic plasticity in zebrafish driven by key pharmaceuticals. Partial and full life-cycle exposure studies will be used to evaluate the molecular mechanisms, behavioural effects and fitness impacts of different pharmaceutical exposures, at different life stages, on different genetic strains.The student will join a large and vibrant research team at Exeter and will work as part of a wider European project focussed on understanding the effects of pharmaceuticals in the environment. The student will also have access to exceptional facilities and expertise at Exeter, and will receive training in animal behaviour, molecular biology, imaging, bioinformatics and toxicology. The student will also benefit from working with industry experts from AstraZeneca, thus greatly enhancing their long term career prospects.