Effect studies of human pharmaceuticals on Fucus vesiculosus and Gammarus spp

• In two experiments, the human pharmaceutical propranolol negatively affected the physiology of two test organisms, Fucus vesiculosus and Gammarus spp. from a Baltic Sea littoral community in a concentration of 1000 mu g l(-1). Some effects were also observed for the lower, more ecologically relevant concentrations (10 mu g l(-1) and 100 mu g l(-1)). The effects on E vesiculosus not only increased with increasing concentration, but also with exposure time; while the effects on Gammarus spp. were more inconsistent over time. No clear effects of the pharmaceuticals diclofenac and ibuprofen were observed for any of the organisms. Physiological parameters measured were GP:R-ratio, chlorophyll fluorescence and release of coloured dissolved organic matter, respiration and ammonium excretion. Pharmaceutical substances are repeatedly detected in the Baltic Sea which is the recipient for SIP effluents from more than 85 million people living in the catchment area, but the knowledge of their effects on non-target organisms is still very limited.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Baltic Sea

Sub-lethal effects

Algae

Amphipod

beta-blocker

NSAID

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)