Abstract
Humans are increasingly dependent on pharmaceuticals and consumption is set to rise. As a consequence, more and more pharmaceuticals are released into waterways worldwide with little knowledge of how they affect aquatic ecosystems. My recent results suggest that effects of pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments are much more important and widespread than currently assumed, and that these effects can result in major changes in species interactions, population dynamics and ecosystem function. In an earlier study, I found that concentrations of pharmaceuticals presently found in many waterways profoundly alter important behavioural traits in fish and that this in turn affects feeding efficiency. To expand on this I propose to investigate the ecological effects of pharmaceuticals, via behavioural modifications, at different levels (individual, species and community) of replicated aquatic ecosystems. More specifically, this project will provide novel information of how common mood-stabilizing drugs (benzodiazepine) affect growth, competition, dispersal and predation of perch, and how these changes in turn may affect species interactions and community composition. I use a multidisciplinary approach that integrates state-of-the-art behavioural ecology, population and community biology and chemical methods. In addition, I combine the strengths of laboratory studies, large-scale field-manipulations and world-wide surveys across multiple, natural ecosystems.
Sweden