{
  "abstract": "Pharmaceutical pollution is an increasing global threat to freshwater ecosystems. Psychoactive drugs, such as antidepressants, are of particular concern because they affect evolutionarily conserved neuroendocrine pathways in nontarget organisms. As these pathways regulate interconnected biological systems, understanding the ecological consequences of pharmaceutical exposure requires an integrative approach. Here, we investigated the effects of 28-day exposure to control (freshwater), low (4.2 ± 0.3 ng/L), and high (637.5 ± 173.84 ng/L) fluoxetine concentrations on behaviors, baseline immune traits, and skin mucus microbiome composition in the Murray River rainbowfish (Melanotaenia fluviatilis). Fluoxetine exposure did not impact fish behavior, including activity, freezing behavior, shelter use, or microbiome composition. In contrast, immune traits were significantly altered. Both fluoxetine concentrations reduced total white blood cell (WBC) count, while only fish exposed to the low concentration showed reduced lymphocyte counts and elevated neutrophil counts, consistent with a stress-associated WBC redistribution response. Our findings show that different, but interconnected, biological systems can differ in their sensitivity to pollutants and suggest that immune traits may be an early, sensitive indicator of exposure to psychoactive pharmaceuticals. These findings highlight the importance of integrating multiple biological end points to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the ecological consequences of pharmaceutical contamination.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia",
    "School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine, and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, Greater Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom",
    "Department of Pharmacology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia",
    "Victorian Heart Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia",
    "Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia",
    "Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Gabriel Melhado",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7638-6841"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Rhiannon V. Eastment"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Francine Z. Marques"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Upama Aich",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2576-0922"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Anne Peters"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Bob B. M. Wong"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7eg7r6jzqgr97.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1021/acs.est.6c12057",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13738779/",
  "id": "7eg7r6jzqgr97",
  "issns": [
    "0013-936X",
    "1520-5851"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6c12057",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Occurrence, Fate, and Transport of Aquatic and Terrestrial Contaminants"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2310|Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223019699",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13738779",
  "pmid": "42975481",
  "published": "2026-10-20",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7eg7r6jzqgr97.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-09T12:23:42Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13738779",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6c12057"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "openalex:2310|Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts",
      "subfield": "environmental-science"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Psychoactive Pollutant Impacts Baseline Immune Traits but Not Behavior and Microbiome in a Fish",
  "title_text": "Psychoactive Pollutant Impacts Baseline Immune Traits but Not Behavior and Microbiome in a Fish",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T12:23:42Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7eg7r6jzqgr97",
  "venue": "Environmental Science & Technology",
  "versions": []
}