Copper in water makes salmon vulnerable

Copper in water makes salmon vulnerable

Source: Science News

7/10/2012

Copper pollution in water can affect salmon, interfering with their sense of smell that normally warns of a predator's presence, a U.S. researcher says.

Jenifer McIntyre at Washington State University found tiny amounts of copper from brake linings and mining operations finding its way into waterways affects the fishes' sense of smell so much they can't detect a compound in water that ordinarily alerts them to be still and wary.

"A copper-exposed fish is not getting the information it needs to make good decisions," McIntyre said in a release Tuesday.

McIntyre put juvenile coho salmon exposed to varying amounts of copper in tanks with cutthroat trout, a common predator.

McIntyre explained salmon are attuned to smell a substance called Schreckstoff, German for "scary stuff," released when a fish is physically damaged, thereby alerting nearby fish to the predator's presence.

Salmon, Atlantic

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