Integrative behavioral ecotoxicology: bringing together fields to establish new insight to behavioral ecology, toxicology, and conservation

Abstract

The fields of behavioral ecology, conservation science, and environmental toxicology individually aim to protect and manage the conservation of wildlife in response to anthropogenic stressors, including widespread anthropogenic pollution. Although great emphasis in the field of toxicology has been placed on understanding how single pollutants affect survival, a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach that includes behavioral ecology is essential to address how anthropogenic compounds are a risk for the survival of species and populations in an increasingly polluted world. We provide an integrative framework for behavioral ecotoxicology using Tinbergen’s four postulates (causation and mechanism, development and ontogeny, function and fitness, and evolutionary history and phylogenetic patterns). The aims of this review are: 1) to promote an integrative view and re-define the field of integrative behavioral ecotoxicology; 2) to demonstrate how studying ecotoxicology can promote behavior research; and 3) to identify areas of behavioral ecotoxicology that require further attention to promote the integration and growth of the field.

Effects of neonicotinoids on putative escape behavior of juvenile wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) chronically exposed as tadpoles

“…Behavioral ecotoxicology is an area of research that unites behavioral ecology with ecotoxicology and can be used to conserve biodiversity in an increasingly contaminated environment (Peterson et al 2017). Although behavioral effects may be slightly more challenging to quantify, they are sensitive early warning signs, or biomarkers, of sublethal toxic effects of environmental contaminants (Peterson et al 2017).…”

“…Behavioral ecotoxicology is an area of research that unites behavioral ecology with ecotoxicology and can be used to conserve biodiversity in an increasingly contaminated environment (Peterson et al 2017). Although behavioral effects may be slightly more challenging to quantify, they are sensitive early warning signs, or biomarkers, of sublethal toxic effects of environmental contaminants (Peterson et al 2017). Contaminant-induced deviations from normal behavior are expected to lower an individual's likelihood of survival and reproduction; however, more research is required to link laboratory behavioral changes after contaminant exposure to free-living individuals and populations (Peterson et al 2017).…”

“…Although behavioral effects may be slightly more challenging to quantify, they are sensitive early warning signs, or biomarkers, of sublethal toxic effects of environmental contaminants (Peterson et al 2017). Contaminant-induced deviations from normal behavior are expected to lower an individual's likelihood of survival and reproduction; however, more research is required to link laboratory behavioral changes after contaminant exposure to free-living individuals and populations (Peterson et al 2017). Incorporating behavior in ecotoxicology is both relevant and important because it can be used to assess the impact of environmental contaminants on individual, population, and ecosystem health and sustainability (Peterson et al 2017).…”

Synthesizing the role of epigenetics in the response and adaptation of species to climate change in freshwater ecosystems

“…Once the salinity levels and/or temperature increases in a freshwater ecosystem, organisms can only survive and reproduce if they adapt themselves to the new environment or if they behaviourally can avoid the stressor (Berg et al., ; Kefford et al., ; Nielsen, Brock, Rees, & Baldwin, ) most straightforwardly by escaping into more suitable habitats (Wong & Candolin, ; Figure ). In fact, behavioural traits such as avoidance/escaping mechanisms have been recognized as early‐warning tools for signalling environmental perturbation (e.g., Peterson et al., ); there has also been some questioning on the most commonly applied methods to assess the biological and ecological effects of stressor exposure since these methods reflect spatially limited scenarios where organisms are forcedly exposed, which necessarily impairs the ecological relevance of the outcome (e.g., Araújo, Moreira‐Santos, & Ribeiro, ).…”

Integrating Behavior and Physiology Into Strategies for Amphibian Conservation

“…Because of this complexity, there is a need to incorporate interdisciplinary approaches in conservation planning. This need has given rise to such fields as conservation genetics (Hedrick, 2001;Shaffer et al, 2015), conservation physiology (Wikelski and Cooke, 2006;Cooke et al, 2013Cooke et al, , 2014, conservation behavior (Sutherland, 1998;Blumstein and Fernández-Juricic, 2004;Buchholz, 2007), and integrative behavioral ecotoxicology (Clotfelter et al, 2004;Peterson et al, 2017). Interdisciplinary approaches can directly address the mechanistic underpinnings of population processes (e.g., extinction risk and metapopulation connectivity), thus providing insight into the causes of biodiversity loss.…”