Latest news with #MarcusMichelangeli
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Scientists issue urgent warning after witnessing disturbing changes in salmon behavior: 'Expected to have broader negative consequences'
Pharmaceutical pollution is affecting Atlantic salmon's ability to migrate, according to a study published in the journal Science in early April. Researchers from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences tracked young salmon's travel from the River Dal to the Baltic Sea, studying their reactions to clobazam and tramadol. Clobazam helps control seizures and slows down the central nervous system. Tramadol is an opioid painkiller. Exposure sped up the fish's migration, appearing to make them less anxious, but is that a good thing? Marcus Michelangeli, a study contributor from Griffith University's Australian Rivers Institute, pointed out that such changes could be detrimental. "While the increased migration success in salmon exposed to clobazam might seem like a beneficial effect, it is important to realize that any change to the natural behavior … of a species is expected to have broader negative consequences," he said, according to a release by the university. Michelangeli said that this is an "emerging global issue," with hundreds of pharmaceuticals detected in global waterways. When people flush their medications down the toilet, they enter aquatic ecosystems. Clobazam and tramadol were chosen for the study because they are common pollutants, but they're far from the only ones. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ibuprofen and aspirin can stunt aquatic organisms' growth, and antibiotics can poison aquatic plants. If fish and other aquatic wildlife are continuously exposed to pharmaceuticals, they could end up in humans' food. They are slow to degrade, meaning they build up and you could be exposed to all the medications that have been disposed of in waterways over time. This has untold effects on human health and well-being. Unfortunately, this topic is significantly understudied. However, Michelangeli had some ideas on how to practically apply this new knowledge. According to a release by Griffith University, he said, "By designing drugs that break down more rapidly or become less harmful after use, we can significantly mitigate the environmental impact of pharmaceutical pollution." Do you worry about pesticides in your food? All the time Sometimes Not really I only eat organic Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. If you'd like to help, try limiting the amount of chemicals you use. Using organic fertilizer or ditching fabric softener can reduce your personal pollution output. To properly dispose of unused medicines, look into drug take-back locations near you. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Irish Examiner
25-04-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
What's really in our water? We can't manage what we can't measure
Ireland's waters are in trouble — and not just from the usual suspects. Sure, fertiliser runoff still feeds algal blooms in streams and lakes. But there's more to the story: salmon swimming on anxiety medication, pesticides disrupting aquatic food chains, and forever chemicals that refuse to break down. You could say our lakes, rivers, and wetlands have become chemical cocktails — shaken, stirred, and dangerously under-regulated. This isn't some distant, invisible threat. It's flowing beneath our bridges, past our farms and towns, and into our drinking water supplies. And while new data shows glimmers of improvement, our freshwater systems are under pressure like never before, caught between climate extremes, land-use change, and the leftover chemistry of modern life. The question isn't whether our waters can recover. It's whether we're willing to help them. From fertiliser to pharma Farming has long shaped Ireland's landscape. But when fertilisers and slurry run off into lakes, rivers, and streams, they tip the ecological balance. Nitrates and phosphates (usual suspects) feed harmful algal blooms, strip oxygen from the water, and stress fish and invertebrates. According to the EPA, 40% of freshwater monitoring sites were impacted by nutrient pollution in 2023, with knock-on effects for biodiversity, water quality, and industries like fishing and tourism. But there's hope. In 2024, nitrate levels in Irish freshwaters dropped to their lowest in nearly a decade, thanks to smarter fertiliser use, tighter regulations, and growing investment in sustainable practices. It shows that change is possible and already happening. The researchers Daniel Cerveny and Marcus Michelangeli from SLU in Umeå are collecting juvenile salmon in the Dal River. The juvenile salmon formed the foundation of the study published in Science. Image:Michael Bertram At the same time, another issue has quietly re-surfaced: pharmaceutical pollution. A 2025 Science study found that Atlantic salmon exposed to clobazam (an anti-anxiety drug found in wastewater) behaved very differently. They navigated migration routes faster and bypassed hydropower barriers more successfully. But they also abandoned their usual group behaviours, ignored predator cues, and showed signs of risky behaviour. Speedy, but less safe. If trace amounts of medication can change how salmon behave, what impact are they having on frogs in ponds, daphnia in lakes, or mayflies in headwater streams? Chemical cocktails and murky waters Clobazam is just one ingredient. Ireland's water bodies also carry residues of painkillers, antibiotics, antihistamines, and synthetic hormones. PFAS (the forever chemicals used in waterproof clothing, cookware, and firefighting foam) persist in freshwater ecosystems and accumulate in animals and humans. Pesticides alter hormone systems in fish and amphibians. Microplastics drift through lakes and wetlands, offering sticky surfaces for pollutants and microbes to hitch a ride. Unlike nutrients, these pollutants are harder to track. While some water quality parameters can be monitored with sensors, detecting pharmaceuticals, PFAS, and microplastics still requires advanced lab testing — something Ireland currently does on a limited scale. Michael Bertram: Our study is among the first to show that pharmaceutical pollution can affect not just behaviour in the lab, but outcomes for animals in their natural environment. Bertram is an assistant professor in Ecology and Ecotoxicology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Carbon in water Another concern that often goes overlooked is Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) — a mix of organic molecules leached from soils, vegetation, and especially peatlands. DOC naturally occurs in bog-fed waters, giving them their familiar tea-coloured hue. But levels are rising globally, driven by changes in land use, peatland drainage, and climate-induced shifts in rainfall and runoff. While elevated DOC isn't necessarily toxic, but it can have indirect impacts. It can alter light penetration in lakes and streams, affecting photosynthesis and potentially aquatic food webs. It can bind with metals and pollutants, changing their mobility. And in drinking water treatment, high DOC can increase the formation of harmful disinfection byproducts when it reacts with chlorine. Despite its growing importance, DOC remains poorly monitored across Ireland. It's a blind spot in water quality management. One we urgently need to fix, especially as peatlands are disturbed and rainfall patterns shift with climate change. Treatment tech: playing catch-up Most of Ireland's water treatment plants were designed to tackle yesterday's threats — bacteria and basic pollutants — not today's chemical soups. Nitrates often pass through. PFAS defy most filters. Even chlorine, our go-to disinfectant, can backfire when it reacts with DOC to produce harmful compounds. Solutions exist, from activated carbon to advanced oxidation and membrane filtration. But retrofitting treatment plants is expensive, logistically challenging, especially for rural or older infrastructure. A national rescue mission So, what's the fix? It starts upstream. Support farmers who reduce fertiliser use and restore buffer zones along waterways. Incentivise peatland restoration and more native tree planting to soak up runoff before it enters the system. Invest in treatment technologies that can remove more than just the basics. And develop a national framework to track and regulate pharmaceutical and chemical pollutants across all freshwater environments. Equally important is public awareness. Most people don't realise that drugs that we consume and excrete can end up in the nearest stream. Protecting water quality requires buy-in from communities, councils, hospitals, households, and industries alike. It also means improving our science. Testing for pharmaceuticals, PFAS, DOC, or emerging contaminants should be part of routine water monitoring — not an occasional research project. Without data, we can't manage what we can't measure. Blue future Water is fundamental. It flows through every part of life, shaping landscapes, fuelling agriculture, sustaining ecosystems, and underpinning public health. Yet in Ireland, clean water is often taken for granted, as if it's an infinite, self-cleaning resource. But that illusion is wearing thin. Our freshwater systems are absorbing the costs of modern life, from overuse of fertilisers and pharmaceuticals to a lack of planning for climate-driven extremes. These aren't just environmental issues. They're economic, public health, and social ones too. Clean water is central to our economy, not just our ecology. But we can't protect what we don't prioritise. Water must be recognised not just as a utility, but as a national asset that underpins everything else. Here's to clean water — raises glass.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Pharmaceutical pollution messing with fish behaviour, scientists find
Pollution from pharmaceuticals has the potential to affect the behaviour and migration of salmon, scientists revealed on Friday. Scientists employed slow-release pharmaceutical implants and animal-tracking transmitters to monitor how exposure to two common medicines affected the behaviour and migration of juvenile Atlantic salmon in Sweden's River Dal as they migrated to the Baltic Sea. The study, led by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, found that commonly detected environmental levels of clobazam – a medication often prescribed for sleep disorders – increased the river-to-sea migration success of the fish. It also found that clobazam shortened the time it took for the salmon to navigate through two hydropower dams along their migration route, obstacles that typically hinder successful migration. A follow-up experiment also found that clobazam altered shoaling behaviour. Marcus Michelangeli, from Australia's Griffith University, who was a key contributor to the study published in Science, emphasized the increasing threat of pharmaceutical pollution to wildlife and ecosystems. "Pharmaceutical pollutants are an emerging global issue, with over 900 different substances having now been detected in waterways around the world," Michelangeli said. "Of particular concern are psychoactive substances like antidepressants and pain medications, which can significantly interfere with wildlife brain function and behaviour." Increased migration success in salmon exposed to clobazam might seem like a beneficial effect, Michelangeli said. However, he warned that any change to the natural behaviour and ecology of a species was expected to have broader negative consequences both for that species and the surrounding wildlife community. Many pharmaceuticals persist in the environment due to poor biodegradability and insufficient wastewater treatment, Michelangeli said. Wastewater treatment methods were becoming more effective at reducing pharmaceutical contamination, and there was promising potential in green chemistry approaches, he added. "By designing drugs that break down more rapidly or become less harmful after use, we can significantly mitigate the environmental impact of pharmaceutical pollution in the future."
