Selection for Zinc Tolerance in Fish: Results from Laboratory and Wild Populations

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Abstract
A laboratory population of flagfish (Jordanella floridae), selected for zinc tolerance, showed an increased resistance to toxic zinc concentrations after one generation. However, continued selection for three more generations failed to increase tolerance further, suggesting that acute zinc exposure culled out weak individuals but did not cause genetic changes specifically related to zinc tolerance. Common shiners (Notropis cornutus) inhabiting a zinc‐polluted stream were not more zinc tolerant than common shiners from two nearby unpolluted streams, but appeared to be under stress from the chronic exposure to elevated metal levels. These results and a literature review suggest that although fish may have the genetic potential to evolve metal tolerance, they are unable to do so rapidly enough to survive in environments contaminated by human activities.

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