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Methamphetamine In Water Could Be Turning Fish Into Drug Addicts, New Study Claims

Methamphetamine In Water Could Be Turning Fish Into Drug Addicts, New Study Claims

Researchers carried out the study looking into potential drug addiction in fish

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

New research claims fish can become addicted to methamphetamine after ingesting it through contaminated water.

The study was led by Pavel Horky, a behavioural ecologist from the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, and involved 40 brown trout being placed in a tank of water containing a level of methamphetamine that has previously been found in freshwater rivers.

A further 40 fish were used as a control group.

PA

After eight weeks, the researchers moved the fish that had been inside the methamphetamine-laced tank to a new one with clean water.

The fish were then tested for addiction every other day, with researchers offering the chance to go into water containing the drug or water without.

The study found the trout that had spent the eight weeks in the water with methamphetamine chose the water containing the drug in the four days after moving to the clean tank.

Researchers say this shows the animals were going through withdrawals as they chose the drug when it became available.

PA

They also found that the fish who were hooked on the drug were less active than those who hadn't come into contact with it.

The study said drugs end up in water supplies after being excreted from users and are expelled through wastewater treatment plants, which aren't set up to deal with these types of contaminants.

Speaking to CNN Horky said: "Fish are sensitive to adverse effects of many neurologically active drugs from alcohol to cocaine and can develop drug addiction related to the dopamine reward pathway in a similar manner as humans."

He went on to say that such a drug addiction could prompt fish to spend more time around water treatment areas, which can be harmful to fish, in an attempt to get another hit.

He added: "Such effects could change the functioning of whole ecosystems as adverse consequences are of relevance at the individual as well as population levels."

The researchers suggest these addictions could interfere with natural processes such as mating and foraging.

PA

The study is yet another example of how human behaviour is having a negative impact on wildlife.

Horky told CNN: "Current research from teams around the world undoubtedly shows their adverse impact on ecosystems, which in turn can influence humans."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Drugs, Weird, Animals