Neurotransmitters as Communicative Agents in Aquatic Ecosystems

Abstract

The present work contains literature data and the authors’ own findings that provide evidence for an important ecosystem-level regulatory role of chemical factors that perform the function of neurotransmitters in animals’ nervous systems. Special attention is given to biogenic amines and related compounds that represent one of the main subgroups of neurotransmitters. The facts considered in this work indicate that such substances are characterized by a wide spectrum of signal functions in diverse components of aquatic ecosystems, including the microbiota, phytoplankton, invertebrates, higher plants, and fishes. Of paramount importance is the involvement of such neurotransmitters in the regulation of the functioning of whole ecosystems. Such ecosystem-level regulators are not only synthesized and released into the environment by various components of aquatic ecosystems but also introduced into them as human-made pollutants.