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Uncovering the effects of pharmaceuticals in the wild, beyond individuals to animal communities

Project description

A sea change in pharmaceutical residues

More than half (66 %) of the toxic micropollutants in water come from pharmaceuticals and personal care products, according to the European Commission. This poses a big threat to aquatic wildlife and ecosystems. The EU-funded AquaDrugs project will identify how exposure to pharmaceutical waste shapes the ecological interactions of multiple species. It will harness new developments in underwater animal tracking and computer automation, and use fish as a model system. Specifically, the project will test how two globally pervasive pharmaceuticals (clobazam and tramadol) influence ecologically important wildlife behaviours and variability. The research will also identify whether and how such changes impact animal collectives. The findings will help policymakers safeguard Europe’s aquatic ecosystems and wildlife from pharmaceutical impacts.

Objective

The increasing production and release of pharmaceutical pollutants into waterways is now a leading threat to aquatic wildlife and ecosystems around the world. Despite this, knowledge on the hazards these contaminants cause in complex natural ecosystems is still extremely poor and thus considered an urgent research priority. AquaDrugs will harness new developments in underwater animal tracking and computer automation to identify how pharmaceutical waste in the environment can induce behavioural changes in animals that lead to high-order ecological effects. Through a series of well-integrated experiments, and using fish as a model system, AquaDrugs will trace the impact of pharmaceuticals across biological scales to address four novel and ambitious objectives: (1) test how environmentally relevant concentrations of two globally pervasive pharmaceuticals (clobazam an tramadol), both in isolation and in a mixture, influence ecologically important wildlife behaviours and variability; (2) identify whether, and how, such changes impact animal collectives; (3) determine how pharmaceutical-induced behavioural changes at the individual and group levels scale up to shape aquatic communities; and (4) uncover how exposure shapes the ecological interactions of multiple species. The project will deliver urgently needed data for chemicals regulation leading to improved policies that safeguard Europe’s aquatic ecosystems and wildlife from pharmaceutical impacts. The interdisciplinary approaches and theory in AquaDrugs—from integrative ecology, ecotoxicology, and analytical chemistry—also promises to yield pioneering results and experimental innovations that will advance these scientific fields and boost the expertise and academic career of the research fellow, Dr Marcus Michelangeli. Importantly, the research in AquaDrugs directly addresses key research priorities in Europe including the European Green Deal and the EU’s Mission for ‘Healthy Oceans, Seas, and Inland Waters’.

Funding Scheme

MSCA-PF - MSCA-PF

Coordinator

SVERIGES LANTBRUKSUNIVERSITET
Net EU contribution
€ 222 727,68
Address
ALMAS ALLE 8
750 07 Uppsala
Sweden

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Region
Östra Sverige Östra Mellansverige Uppsala län
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
No data

Partners (1)