Traces of antidepressant drugs have been flushed into waterways and have been changing the ways shrimp have been acting. As a result, they have become easier prey to predators. Scientists conducted an experiment to resemble the conditions in the wild by exposing some shrimp to the antidepressant fluoxetine at levels detected in average sewage-treatment waste. They did this because fluoxetine is the key ingredient in the drugs Prozac and Sarafem. When the shrimp had been exposed to the fluoxetine, they were five times more likely to swim towards bright regions of water. This would obviously make them more likely to be eaten by a predator. The normal behavior for them would be to gravitate to dark, safe corners instead of the open where they could easily succumb to predators like a bird.
This article relates to biology because these living shrimp are being chemically altered by society and making them more vulnerable to predators. The antidepressant likely makes their nerves more sensitive to a chemical called serotonin. This chemical is known to alter moods and sleep patterns according to studies. Since the shrimp are a major part of the food chain, they affect the balance of it depending on their numbers in population.
We should care because antidepressant use is rapidly rising all over the world. It is so popular that animals besides the shrimp most likely are suffering from the doses of fluoxetine in the waters. It is also important to note that the shrimp are very important in the food chain and if they continue to be easier for predators to eat them, the balance can be thrown off and animals as well as the environment can suffer greatly. There is even speculation that other drugs are to blame in addition to the fluoxetine.
-Crisonis Marte
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