Independent and synergistic effects of microplastics and endocrine‐disrupting chemicals on the reproductive social behavior of fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas)

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) have become an environmental concern in recent years, with most research focused on the physiological effects of exposure. Comparatively little consideration has been given to the potential behavioral impacts of exposure, which may also have fitness consequences for individuals. Moreover, MPs can serve as vectors for endocrine‐disrupting chemicals and other locally co‐occurring contaminants known to impair behavioral responses. This project aimed to determine whether MPs alone or in association with a common environmental EDC (17‐alpha ethinyl estradiol; EE2) alter reproductive behavior and decision‐making in fish. Male and female fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) were exposed to MPs associated with either a low (10 ng/L; MPEE2 10) or high (50 ng/L, MPEE2 50) concentration of EE2, or MPs without EE2 (MPvirgin) for 30 days via a dietary feeding protocol. Behavioral trials were conducted on Day 31 to determine the effects of exposure on male–female social interactions. The expression of male sexually selected traits, including courtship, was unaffected by exposure. However, non‐exposed females in all treatment groups trended toward discrimination against exposed males, which reached statistical significance for the MPEE2 50 group. Female fish exposed to MPs, alone or in association with EE2, were equally likely to approach and associate with non‐exposed and exposed males. The results from this study suggest that MPs may alter social behavior in fishes and that the behavioral impacts of exposure may be more strongly pronounced in females than males. Such individual‐level changes in fitness have the potential to impact population size, with downstream effects on the broader aquatic community.