Student Authors
Aylin Doganoglu '25, Gettysburg College
Eleanor Sandt '23, Gettysburg College
Sierra Turbeville '24, Gettysburg College
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-2023
Department 1
Biology
Abstract
Climate change can exacerbate the effects of environmental pollutants on aquatic organisms. Pollutants such as human antidepressants released from wastewater treatment plants have been shown to impact life-history traits of amphibians. We exposed tadpoles of the wood frog Lithobates sylvaticus to two temperatures (20°C and 25°C) and two antidepressants (fluoxetine and venlafaxine), and measured timing of metamorphosis, mass at metamorphosis, and two behaviors (startle response and percent motionless). Antidepressants significantly shortened time to metamorphosis at 20°C, but not at 25°C. At 25°C, tadpoles metamorphosed significantly faster than those at 20°C independent of antidepressant exposure. Venlafax- ine reduced body mass at 25°C, but not at 20°C. Temperature and antidepressant exposure affected the percent of tadpoles showing a startle response. Tadpoles at 20°C displayed significantly more responses than at 25°C. Exposure to fluoxetine also increased the percent of tadpoles showing a startle response. Venlafaxine reduced the percent of motionless tadpoles at 25°C but not at 20°C. While our results showed that antidepressants can affect the timing of metamorphosis in tadpoles, warmer temperatures overrode these effects and caused a reduction in an important reaction behavior (startle response). Future studies should address how warmer global temperatures may exacerbate or negate the effects of environmental pollutants.
Copyright Note
This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
DOI
10.1007/s11356-023-30607-4
Version
Accepted Manuscript
Recommended Citation
Fong, Peter & Doganoglu, Aylin & Sandt, Eleanor & Turbeville, Sierra. (2023). Warmer temperature overrides the effects of antidepressants on amphibian metamorphosis and behavior. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 10.1007/s11356-023-30607-4.
Required Publisher's Statement
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in the Journal of Environmental Science and Pollution Research following peer review. The version of record (Fong, Peter & Doganoglu, Aylin & Sandt, Eleanor & Turbeville, Sierra. (2023). Warmer temperature overrides the effects of antidepressants on amphibian metamorphosis and behavior. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 10.1007/s11356-023-30607-4) is available online at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-023-30607-4.