Role of cortisol in the physiological response to toxicants in fish

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The physiological stress response is elicited when organisms are exposed to potentially harmful stimuli. Cortisol is a key hormonal effector of the response at tissue level in fish. The stress response has been characterized for many species and diverse stressors, including toxicants, yet key fundamental questions remain: is the stress response beneficial or detrimental to the organism during exposure to toxicants; is vulnerability to toxicants related to robustness of the response? The goal of the proposed research is to elucidate the role of cortisol in the physiological response to toxicants in fish and test the hypothesis that cortisol has beneficial effects under acute potentially lethal toxicant exposures, but is detrimental, engendering significant metabolic costs, under sublethal chronic exposures.