Behavioral changes in fish exposed to phytoestrogens

We investigated the behavioral effects of exposure to waterborne phytoestrogens in male fighting fish, Betta splendens. Adult fish were exposed to a range of concentrations of genistein, equol, β-sitosterol, and the positive control 17β-estradiol. The following behaviors were measured: spontaneous swimming activity, latency to respond to a perceived intruder (mirror reflection), intensity of aggressive response toward a perceived intruder, probability of constructing a nest in the presence of a female, and the size of the nest constructed. We found few changes in spontaneous swimming activity, the latency to respond to the mirror, and nest size, and modest changes in the probability of constructing a nest. There were significant decreases, however, in the intensity of aggressive behavior toward the mirror following exposure to several concentrations, including environmentally relevant ones, of 17β-estradiol, genistein, and equol. This suggests that phytoestrogen contamination has the potential to significantly affect the behavior of free-living fishes.