Cocaine Pollution Alters Salmon Behavior in the Wild, Study Reveals
Benzoylecgonine-exposed salmon swam nearly twice as far each week, and researchers say the metabolite had a stronger effect than cocaine itself.
- On Monday, a Current Biology study revealed that 105 juvenile Atlantic salmon exposed to benzoylecgonine and cocaine exhibited altered movement patterns in Sweden's Lake Vättern over eight weeks.
- Wastewater treatment facilities often lack capacity to remove illicit drugs; cocaine and benzoylecgonine consequently discharge into natural water bodies, exposing wildlife to persistent chemical cocktails.
- Benzoylecgonine-Exposed fish swam up to 1.9 times farther weekly and dispersed up to 12.3 kilometers beyond control groups; cocaine also altered behavior but with weaker, less consistent effects.
- Co-Author Marcus Michelangeli of Griffith University warned behavioral shifts could disrupt foraging and predator avoidance: "Where fish go determines what they eat, what eats them, and how populations are structured."
- Environmental risk assessments typically prioritize parent compounds, yet researchers argue this approach may underestimate ecological harm; they advocate shifting priorities to include metabolites, which are often more abundant.
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Scientists Gave Cocaine To Salmon And Discovered It Made Them Overachievers
new scientific study about cocaine exposure on Atlantic salmon For years, scientists and field biologists that monitor natural waterways have been finding elevated levels of prescription and illicit drugs such as painkillers and cocaine. This is not specific to the United States and has been documented all around the world, most recently in The Bahamas where sharks off Eleuthera Island tested positive for trace amounts of 30 substances including…
Cocaine Pollution Seems to Make Salmon Swim Farther Than Usual. Scientists Don't Know the Long-Term Consequences
The illegal drug’s main byproduct, benzoylecgonine, caused more robust effects than cocaine itself. Wastewater treatment plants often don't fully process such metabolites, so they are frequently found in bodies of water at higher concentrations than their parent drugs
Sidney. Salmons swim longer distances under the effects of cocaine, which like other drugs can reach rivers through wastewater, revealed a study released this week.
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