Poster Details
THE EFFECTS OF ACETAMINOPHEN ON CARASSIUS AURATUS FEEDING AND MOVEMENT
Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are increasingly detected in freshwater ecosystems and may have adverse effects on aquatic biota. Acetaminophen is a widely-used analgesic and antipyretic drug that might be discharged directly (e.g. sewage) into rivers and lakes. Thus, organisms inhabiting streams or manmade impoundments receiving wastewater effluent might be affected by this drug. Fish species in these habitats are likely tolerant to low dissolved oxygen, high turbidity, high salinity and forage on benthic vegetation and detritus (e.g. Cyprinidea: carps, minnows, and goldfish). Carassius auratus (common goldfish) were exposed to 0 µg/L, 100 µg/L, and 200 µg/L concentrations of acetaminophen for 216 hours to assess their feeding rate and movement. After 120 hours, feeding rate of fish exposed to 200 µg/L of acetaminophen was significantly higher than the other treatments. Specifically, 83% higher than control and 69% higher than 100 µg/L. After 216 hours, there was no difference across treatments. Movement was measured using ANY-maze behavioral tracking software. Acetaminophen had no effects on fish movement. Future research is needed to determine the effects of chronic acetaminophen exposure on C. auratus and other aquatic organisms.
DANIEL ELIAS (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), North Carolina Wesleyan College, delias@ncwc.edu;
Kayla Lavan (Primary Presenter/Author), North Carolina Wesleyan College, kl234511@my.ncwc.edu;