PhD Studentships: Differential Susceptibility to Copper in Wild Populations of Three-Spined Stickback (GASTEROSTEUS ACULEATUS)

Most aquatic environments in the UK and worldwide have been affected by anthropogenic environmental stressors. Such stressors vary from chemical pollution to habitat fragmentation and to changes in abiotic parameters such as temperature and dissolved oxygen or carbon dioxide. Populations of fish inhabiting these environments are often exposed to combinations of stressors and, as a result, their sustainability is critically dependent on their ability to adapt to the local environment. Despite this, legislation to protect the environment from chemical contamination is often based on toxicological measurements conducted under optimal laboratory conditions and that does not take into account the variation in susceptibility of wild populations or the multiple stressors affecting these populations.

For metals, extreme cases exist of fish populations that can survive in highly contaminated waters, including a brown trout population in the River Hayle, where concentrations of metals far exceed the LC50 for this species. Furthermore, even for populations of fish inhabiting relatively un- impacted waters, their toxicological responses to metals can vary significantly. This highlights the need to understand natural and exposure-induced variations in the response of fish to pollutants, in order to appropriately manage and protect fish populations in their natural environment.

My research explores three key questions, firstly to determine if wild populations of three spined sticklebacks exhibit differential susceptibility to copper and if those characteristics can be inherited under control conditions. Secondly, my research aims to determine if differential susceptibility can be induced by exposure to copper during early life. Thirdly, I plan to investigate the fitness cost associated with differential susceptibility to copper in this species.

Together, this research will allow for a greater understanding of the variation in the responses to chemical stressors in wild populations, how they are induced and maintained and what are the consequences of changes in susceptibility to a pollutant on other parameters of fundamental importance to population sustainability. The data will build on previous data generated at Exeter, and will have implications for toxicity testing and regulation and for the management of wild fish populations.

My report on my attendance at the Canadian Conference for Fisheries Research is here

Publication
Uren Webster, T. M., Laing, L. V., Florance, H. & Santos, E. M. 2014. Effects of glyphosate and its formulation, Roundup, on reproduction in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Environmental Science & Technology 48, 1271-1279.

Contact

Biosciences
College of Life & Environmental Sciences
University of Exeter
Exeter
EX4 4QD
UK

Email: ll292@exeter.ac.uk