Cocaine pollution in rivers and lakes may disrupt behaviour of salmon, study finds
Fish swam further and dispersed more widely after exposure to environmental levels of drug and main metabolite
Traces of cocaine that pollute rivers and lakes may accumulate in the brains of salmon and disrupt their behaviour, according to researchers who warn of unknown consequences for fish populations.
Juvenile Atlantic salmon that were artificially exposed to the drug and its main breakdown product swam further and dispersed more widely across a lake, suggesting the substances can affect where the fish go, what they eat and how vulnerable they are to predators.