How do the Stimulatory Effects of Nutrients and Inhibitory Effects of pharmaceuticals add up?
Location
USU Eccles Conference Center
Event Website
http://water.usu.edu
Start Date
4-5-2016 4:54 PM
End Date
4-5-2016 4:57 PM
Description
Nutrients and pharmaceuticals often have contrasting impacts on stream biofilms, as nutrients commonly have stimulatory effects, while pharmaceuticals have been shown to have toxicological effects. Although these contaminants can co-occur in human-impacted streams, few studies have investigated their combined effects. We deployed contaminant exposure substrates at mountain and urban sites in three northern Utah rivers to test how nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, iron) and pharmaceuticals (diphenhydramine, caffeine), alone and in combination, impacted gross primary production, respiration, nitrogen fixation, and biomass of autotrophic and heterotrophic stream biofilms. Nutrients stimulated growth and primary production of autotrophic biofilms and respiration of heterotrophic biofilms. Pharmaceuticals less commonly had significant effects but did reduce biomass and GPP of autotrophic biofilms. Nutrients and pharmaceuticals had contrasting effects and, when added in combination, each contaminant was able to reduce the strength of the other’s effect. In one case, nutrients were able to completely ameliorate the contrasting effect of pharmaceuticals. These results indicate the importance of considering the combined effects of co-occurring stressors and the potential importance of evaluating pharmaceutical pollution in low nutrient waters.
How do the Stimulatory Effects of Nutrients and Inhibitory Effects of pharmaceuticals add up?
USU Eccles Conference Center
Nutrients and pharmaceuticals often have contrasting impacts on stream biofilms, as nutrients commonly have stimulatory effects, while pharmaceuticals have been shown to have toxicological effects. Although these contaminants can co-occur in human-impacted streams, few studies have investigated their combined effects. We deployed contaminant exposure substrates at mountain and urban sites in three northern Utah rivers to test how nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, iron) and pharmaceuticals (diphenhydramine, caffeine), alone and in combination, impacted gross primary production, respiration, nitrogen fixation, and biomass of autotrophic and heterotrophic stream biofilms. Nutrients stimulated growth and primary production of autotrophic biofilms and respiration of heterotrophic biofilms. Pharmaceuticals less commonly had significant effects but did reduce biomass and GPP of autotrophic biofilms. Nutrients and pharmaceuticals had contrasting effects and, when added in combination, each contaminant was able to reduce the strength of the other’s effect. In one case, nutrients were able to completely ameliorate the contrasting effect of pharmaceuticals. These results indicate the importance of considering the combined effects of co-occurring stressors and the potential importance of evaluating pharmaceutical pollution in low nutrient waters.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/runoff/2016/2016Posters/9
Comments
A poster by Elizabeth Ogata, who is with Utah State University, Department of Biology