What happens to a fish on drugs?
If it’s a wild European perch exposed to a popular anxiety medication, chances are it’s antisocial, wanders away from the safety of its group and devours food more quickly than its peers — all behaviors that could have ecological consequences, according to a forthcoming report in the journal Science.
In a study aimed at further understanding the environmental impacts of pharmaceuticals that often wind up in the world’s waterways through wastewater, researchers from Umea University in Sweden examined how perch behaved when exposed to oxazepam, a drug commonly used to treat anxiety disorders in humans. The scientists exposed the fish to concentrations of the drug similar to those found in the waters near densely populated areas in Sweden.
“Normally, perch are shy and hunt in schools. This is a known strategy for survival and growth. But those who swam in oxazepam became considerably bolder,” said ecologist Tomas Brodin, leader author of the article. They “lost interest in hanging out with the group.”
Although Brodin and his colleagues focused on oxazepam in their research, they noted that residue from a “veritable cocktail of drugs” can be found in waterways worldwide.