Abstract
Red tides are formed from blooms of marine algae. Among them, the dinoflagellate (Karenia brevis) that is responsible for Florida red tides can release many types of natural toxins, which cause massive kills of marine animals, including endangered species, and threaten human health. This study was to investigate whether or not a neurotoxin, brevetoxin-3, purified from Florida red tides affects hearing sensitivity of a teleost fish, the goldfish (Carassius auratus). LD50 of the goldfish that were intraperitoneally injected with brevetoxin-3 was 0.068 μg g-1. Evoked auditory brainstem responses were recorded, and hearing threshold was determined using a correlation method. By comparing thresholds of fish before and after a sublethal-dose injection (0.064 μg g-1) of the toxin, we found that brevetoxin-3 significantly reduces auditory sensitivity up to 9 dB at low frequencies (100 Hz and 500 Hz), but not at a high frequency (2,000 Hz). Reduction of hearing sensitivity was recovered within 24 h. To our knowledge, this is the first study showing a natural red-tide toxin causes minor hearing loss in vertebrates. Results of the study indicate that brevetoxin-3 could affect hearing capabilities of marine animals that survived exposure to red tides. Mechanisms of the toxin-induced reduction of hearing sensitivity are discussed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 807-813 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology |
| Volume | 188 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 1 2002 |
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Keywords
- Audiogram
- Auditory brainstem response
- Brevetoxin
- Goldfish
- Neurotoxin
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Animal Science and Zoology
- Physiology
- Physiology (medical)
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Neuroscience(all)
Cite this
Effects of a red-tide toxin on fish hearing. / Lu, Zhongmin; Tomchik, S. M.
In: Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, Vol. 188, No. 10, 01.11.2002, p. 807-813.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of a red-tide toxin on fish hearing
AU - Lu, Zhongmin
AU - Tomchik, S. M.
PY - 2002/11/1
Y1 - 2002/11/1
N2 - Red tides are formed from blooms of marine algae. Among them, the dinoflagellate (Karenia brevis) that is responsible for Florida red tides can release many types of natural toxins, which cause massive kills of marine animals, including endangered species, and threaten human health. This study was to investigate whether or not a neurotoxin, brevetoxin-3, purified from Florida red tides affects hearing sensitivity of a teleost fish, the goldfish (Carassius auratus). LD50 of the goldfish that were intraperitoneally injected with brevetoxin-3 was 0.068 μg g-1. Evoked auditory brainstem responses were recorded, and hearing threshold was determined using a correlation method. By comparing thresholds of fish before and after a sublethal-dose injection (0.064 μg g-1) of the toxin, we found that brevetoxin-3 significantly reduces auditory sensitivity up to 9 dB at low frequencies (100 Hz and 500 Hz), but not at a high frequency (2,000 Hz). Reduction of hearing sensitivity was recovered within 24 h. To our knowledge, this is the first study showing a natural red-tide toxin causes minor hearing loss in vertebrates. Results of the study indicate that brevetoxin-3 could affect hearing capabilities of marine animals that survived exposure to red tides. Mechanisms of the toxin-induced reduction of hearing sensitivity are discussed.
AB - Red tides are formed from blooms of marine algae. Among them, the dinoflagellate (Karenia brevis) that is responsible for Florida red tides can release many types of natural toxins, which cause massive kills of marine animals, including endangered species, and threaten human health. This study was to investigate whether or not a neurotoxin, brevetoxin-3, purified from Florida red tides affects hearing sensitivity of a teleost fish, the goldfish (Carassius auratus). LD50 of the goldfish that were intraperitoneally injected with brevetoxin-3 was 0.068 μg g-1. Evoked auditory brainstem responses were recorded, and hearing threshold was determined using a correlation method. By comparing thresholds of fish before and after a sublethal-dose injection (0.064 μg g-1) of the toxin, we found that brevetoxin-3 significantly reduces auditory sensitivity up to 9 dB at low frequencies (100 Hz and 500 Hz), but not at a high frequency (2,000 Hz). Reduction of hearing sensitivity was recovered within 24 h. To our knowledge, this is the first study showing a natural red-tide toxin causes minor hearing loss in vertebrates. Results of the study indicate that brevetoxin-3 could affect hearing capabilities of marine animals that survived exposure to red tides. Mechanisms of the toxin-induced reduction of hearing sensitivity are discussed.
KW - Audiogram
KW - Auditory brainstem response
KW - Brevetoxin
KW - Goldfish
KW - Neurotoxin
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0036880802&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0036880802&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00359-002-0369-8
DO - 10.1007/s00359-002-0369-8
M3 - Article
VL - 188
SP - 807
EP - 813
JO - Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology
JF - Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology
SN - 0340-7594
IS - 10
ER -