Meth in our freshwater rivers can turn trout into tweakers, according to new research. Ecologists from the Czech University of Life Sciences placed brown trout in water containing the same levels of meth found in freshwater rivers and the fish became addicted to the drug. They determined the trout were addicted, and could even suffer withdrawal, after removing them from the meth water and then a few days later giving them the choice of a tank with meth in it or one without. Guess which one they picked. Again. And again. And again. From CNN:
Drugs excreted from users pass through sewage systems and then discharge from wastewater treatment plants, which are not designed to treat this kind of contamination, into waterways, according to the study[…]
[Evologist Pavel] Horky raised concerns that drug addiction could make fish spend more time around water treatment discharges, which are unhealthy for them, in order to get another hit.
"Such effects could change the functioning of whole ecosystems as adverse consequences are of relevance at the individual as well as population levels," he said.
"Methamphetamine pollution elicits addiction in wild fish" (Journal of Experimental Biology)
image (cropped/transformed): Helge Busch-Paulick (Grand-Duc @ Wikipedia) (CC BY-SA 3.0 de)
