Acute Atrazine Exposure has Lasting Effects on Chemosensory Responses to Food Odors in Crayfish (Orconectes virilis)

The herbicide atrazine is known to impact negatively olfactory-mediated behaviors in aquatic animals. We have shown that atrazine exposure has deleterious effects on olfactory-mediated behavioral responses to food odors in crayfish; however, recovery of chemosensory abilities post-atrazine exposure has not been investigated. We examined whether crayfish (Orconectes virilis) recovered chemosensory abilities after a 96-h exposure to sublethal, environmentally relevant concentrations of 80 ppb (µg/L) atrazine. Following treatment, we analyzed the ability of the crayfish to locate a food source using a Y-maze with one arm containing fish-flavored gelatin and the other containing unflavored gelatin. We compared the time spent in the food arm of the Y-maze, near the food source, as well as moving and walking speed of control and atrazine-treated crayfish. We also compared the number of crayfish that handled the food source and the amount of food consumed. Following 24-, 48-, and 72-h recovery periods in fresh water, behavioral trials were repeated to determine if there was any observable recovery of chemosensory-mediated behaviors. Atrazine-treated crayfish spent less time in the food arm, at the odor source, and were less successful at finding the food odor source than control crayfish for all times tested. Additionally, atrazine-treated crayfish consumed less fish-flavored than control crayfish; however, treatment did not affect locomotion. Overall, we found that crayfish are not able to recover chemosensory abilities 72 h post-atrazine exposure. Because crayfish rely heavily on their chemosensory abilities to acquire food, the negative impacts of atrazine exposure could affect population size in areas where atrazine is heavily applied.