Microplastic pollution is associated with inflammation, gut dysbiosis and behavioral changes in fish. Fish have distinct personality traits but the role of personality in behavioral toxicology is rarely considered. We classified zebrafish on four behavioral axes: boldness, anxiety, sociability and exploration tendency then exposed them to low- or high- concentrations of two types of polyethylene microplastics (low- and high-density) for 28 days. Behaviors, antioxidant enzymes (catalase and superoxide dismutase), and gut microbiome were then measured. There were direct effects of microplastics on boldness, anxiety and sociability. However, fish retained their initial behavioral tendencies. Exposure to all microplastic treatments reduced average swimming speed and decreased the time spent motionless. Microplastic exposure did not affect antioxidant enzymes but did cause significant changes in the composition of the gut microbiome. This study demonstrates that environmentally realistic concentrations of microplastics can alter fish behavior, but much of the variance in response can be explained by personality.

中文翻译：

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微塑料对斑马鱼行为的影响取决于初始性格状态


微塑料污染与鱼类的炎症、肠道菌群失调和行为改变有关。鱼具有独特的性格特征，但很少考虑性格在行为毒理学中的作用。我们将斑马鱼分为四个行为轴：大胆、焦虑、社交和探索倾向，然后将它们暴露于低浓度或高浓度的两种聚乙烯微塑料（低密度和高密度）中 28 天。然后测量行为、抗氧化酶 （过氧化氢酶和超氧化物歧化酶） 和肠道微生物组。微塑料对胆量、焦虑和社交能力有直接影响。然而，鱼类保留了它们最初的行为倾向。暴露于所有微塑料处理会降低平均游泳速度并减少不动的时间。微塑料暴露不会影响抗氧化酶，但确实会导致肠道微生物组的组成发生重大变化。这项研究表明，环境现实中的微塑料浓度可以改变鱼类的行为，但大部分反应的差异可以用性格来解释。