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

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的地方(例如，食物、避难所和性伴侣)。空间记忆的一个重要神经区域是海马体，但很少有研究将野生鸟类海马体的细微空间运动与细胞差异联系起来。这些联系可能会中断，因为某些鸟类暴露在高水平的环境污染物中，包括大量有机卤素和痕量金属，特别是在城市地区。有机卤素污染物和微量金属可通过神经毒性和内分泌干扰影响海马区的结构和功能以及动物的行为。此外，环境中存在广泛的有机卤素和金属，但这些化合物或元素中的大多数对鸟类的影响知之甚少。我们建议将神经科学和动物行为方面的尖端技术应用于蒙特利尔地区高度暴露于环境污染物中的一种哨鸟物种(环嘴鸥；大嘴鸥)，这些技术通常仅限于啮齿动物和雀形目动物等小动物，已有文件证明与这种暴露有关的几种毒性影响。使用GPS跟踪表明，这种通常是多面手的海鸥种群也专门使用特定的地点在城市地区觅食，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，以及在高度城市化的栖息地(蒙特利尔地区)高度暴露于污染物的海鸥的行为。这一跨学科的项目将对了解城市环境中野生鸟类的环境污染如何影响大脑、认知和空间记忆产生很大影响。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(Dr Morand-Ferron，渥太华大学)以及生态毒理学和遥测(Dr Verreault，UQAM)方面的互补专业知识对于实现这一独特的创新项目至关重要。

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.