Contaminant Exposure, Neurogenesis and Spatial Behaviour in a Sentinel Gull Species Adapted to Highly Urbanized Habitats

适应高度城市化栖息地的哨兵鸥物种的污染物暴露、神经发生和空间行为

• 批准号: 571458-2021
• 负责人: Guigueno, MélanieMF
• 金额: $ 3.28万
• 依托单位: McGill University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Alliance Grants
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=745276
• 关键词: Contaminant; Exposure; Neurogenesis; Spatial; Behaviour

An animal's spatial memory is essential for its survival and reproduction and allows it to return to places with the best resources (e.g., food, refuge, and sexual partners). An important neural region for spatial memory is the hippocampus, but few studies have linked fine-scale spatial movements with cellular differences in the hippocampus in wild birds. These links can be disrupted since certain avian species are exposed to high levels of environmental contaminants including numerous organohalogens and trace metals, particularly in urban areas. Organohalogen contaminants and trace metals can affect the structure and function of the hippocampus and animal behavior through neurotoxic effects and endocrine disruption. In addition, a wide range of organohalogens and metals are present in the environment, but the effects of most of these compounds or elements are poorly understood in birds. We propose to apply cutting-edge techniques in neuroscience and animal behavior, normally limited to small animals such as rodents and passerines, to a sentinel bird species in the Montreal area (ring-billed gull; Larus delawarensis) highly exposed to environmental contaminants, and for which several toxic effects have been documented related to this exposure. It has been shown using GPS tracking that this normally generalist population of gulls also specializes in the use of specific sites for foraging in urban areas such as landfills and agricultural fields. This project will finance a doctoral project and two master's projects, and will aim to understand the impact of exposure to priority environmental contaminants on the structure and function of the brain and the behavior of a gull highly exposed to contaminants in highly urbanized habitats (Montreal region). This interdisciplinary project will have a high impact on understanding how the brain, cognition and spatial memory are impacted by environmental pollution in wild birds in urban environments. The complementary expertise of this multidisciplinary team in avian neuroscience and cognition (Dr Guigueno, McGill; PI), behavior and urban ecology (Dr Morand-Ferron, Ottawa U.), and ecotoxicology and telemetry (Dr Verreault, UQAM) is essential to the realization of this unique and innovative project.

动物的空间记忆对其生存和繁殖至关重要，并使其能够回到拥有最佳资源（例如食物、避难所和性伴侣）的地方。海马体是空间记忆的一个重要神经区域，但很少有研究将野生鸟类的精细空间运动与海马体的细胞差异联系起来。这些联系可能会中断，因为某些鸟类物种暴露于高水平的环境污染物，包括许多有机卤素和微量金属，特别是在城市地区。有机卤素污染物和微量金属可以通过神经毒性作用和内分泌干扰影响海马的结构和功能以及动物的行为。此外，环境中存在多种有机卤素和金属，但大多数这些化合物或元素对鸟类的影响知之甚少。我们建议将神经科学和动物行为学的前沿技术应用于蒙特利尔地区的一种哨兵鸟（环嘴鸥；Larus delawarensis），这种鸟通常仅限于啮齿动物和雀形目动物等小动物，高度暴露于环境污染物中，并且已经记录了与这种暴露有关的几种毒性效应。利用GPS追踪显示，这种通常是通才的海鸥群体也专门使用城市地区的特定地点觅食，比如垃圾填埋场和农田。该项目将资助一个博士项目和两个硕士项目，旨在了解暴露于优先环境污染物对大脑结构和功能的影响，以及在高度城市化栖息地（蒙特利尔地区）高度暴露于污染物的海鸥的行为。该跨学科项目将对了解城市环境中野生鸟类的大脑、认知和空间记忆如何受到环境污染的影响具有重要影响。这个多学科团队在鸟类神经科学和认知（Guigueno博士，McGill； PI），行为和城市生态学（Morand-Ferron博士，渥太华大学）以及生态毒理学和遥测（Verreault博士，UQAM）方面的互补专业知识对于实现这一独特而创新的项目至关重要。