6/06/2017  |   09:00 - 09:15   |  305B

Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products as novel constituents in aquatic ecosystems Synthetic chemicals such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products have increased in diversity and use over the last 50 years. These compounds are frequently detected in surface waters throughout the world and are now a part of freshwater ecosystems. Understanding the influence and fate of these compounds on ecosystem structure and function is a recent area of research for aquatic ecologists. Here we provide a review of the types of effects these compounds have on aquatic ecosystem functions from primary production, ecosystem respiration, to nutrient cycling. In addition, we review evidence that these compounds influence the structure of aquatic communities from algae, to bacteria, to invertebrates. We also review how these compounds affect the ecology of aquatic organisms including predator prey interactions, life history and population dynamics. Finally, we review the potential for these compounds to biomagnify in food webs and discuss how these compounds may move from aquatic to terrestrial ecosystems via animals. In total, research demonstrates that these compounds affect both the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems and these compounds move through aquatic food webs, with as yet unknown consequences.

Emma Rosi (POC,Primary Presenter), Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, rosie@caryinstitute.org;


Joanna Blaszczak ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Nevada, Reno, jblaszczak@unr.edu;


Rafael Almeida ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Universidad de Juiz de Fora, Rafael Almeida ;


Jerker Fick ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Umeå University, jerker.fick@umu.se;


Michael Grace ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Monash University , michael.grace@monash.edu;


John Kelly ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Loyola University Chicago, Jkelly7@luc.edu;


Sylvia Lee ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, lee.sylvia@epa.gov;


Alexander Reisinger ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, reisingera@caryinstitute.org;


Erinn Richmond ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Monash University , erinn.richmond@monash.edu;


Stephanie Robson ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Monash University, stephanie.robson@monash.edu;


David Walters ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), United States Geological Survey, waltersd@usgs.gov;
Dr. David Walters is a Supervisory Research Ecologist at the Columbia Environmental Research Center. David has been a research ecologist with the USGS since 2008. Prior to that, he was an ecologist for the U.S. EPA, National Exposure Research Laboratory for 6 years. He is a freshwater ecologist with broad training in stream ecology, human impacts on aquatic ecosystems, and ecotoxicology. His current research topics include food webs and contaminant flux, aquatic-riparian linkages, stream fish ecology, land use and climate change, and invasive species.

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6/06/2017  |   09:15 - 09:30   |  305B

EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF PHARMACEUTICALS AND PESTICIDES ON AQUATIC INSECT BEHAVIOR AND ECOLOGY Pharmaceuticals are an emerging class of pollutants in aquatic systems and even very low concentrations of these chemicals may have sub-lethal effects on aquatic insects. Antihistamines are of particular concern because many invertebrates use histamines as neurotransmitters. We describe several experiments designed to investigate effects of common antihistamines (diphenhydramine, fexofenadine, hydroxyzine), an antidepressant (bupropion) and an insecticide (carbaryl) on behavior and predation in aquatic insects (Anax junius, Sympetrum semicinctum, Cybister fimbriolatus and Belostoma flumineum). After exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations for 1-3 days, we observed mixed evidence that these pollutants influence behavior and predation. Activity level of most insects was reduced in the presence of diphenhydramine or hydroxyzine but not with fexofenadine or buproprion. Exposure to hydroxyzine was associated with a significant reduction in cannibalism, but only for A. junius. Despite the short-term nature of these experiments, our results provide some evidence for sub-lethal effects of commonly prescribed antihistamines on aquatic insects. Scaling impacts from the population and community level to responses at the ecosystem level are critical to our ability to assess the impacts of these chemicals in nature.

Patrick Crumrine (Primary Presenter/Author), Rowan University, crumrine@rowan.edu;


Marlena Glebocki ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Monmouth University, marlenaglebocki@gmail.com;


Kyle Leathers ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Virginia, kwl8rs@virginia.edu;


Earyn McGee ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Arizona, earynnmcgee@email.arizona.edu;


Anna Sheinaus ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Hampshire College, annarac5@gmail.com;


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6/06/2017  |   09:30 - 09:45   |  305B

CUMULATIVE EFFECTS OF MULTIPLE AGRICULTURAL STRESSORS: A POND MESOCOSM STUDY OF SEDIMENTATION, NUTRIENT ENRICHMENT, AND INSECTICIDE PULSES Despite the large scale of agricultural insecticide applications around the globe, their ecological impacts have received relatively little attention from freshwater ecologists. As a result, their effects on ecosystem function, and their potential non-additive interactions with other common agricultural stressors remain largely unknown. We conducted a factorial experiment in outdoor pond mesocosms, manipulating fine sediment, nutrients, and a neonicotinoid insecticide (imidacloprid), to evaluate their individual and combined effects on benthic invertebrates, planktonic communities, and ecosystem processes. We found that sedimentation was the most pervasive stressor, with independent negative impacts on benthic invertebrate abundance, zooplankton biomass and richness, and net ecosystem productivity (NEP). Nutrient additions had mainly positive effects, increasing benthic invertebrate richness, zooplankton biomass, phytoplankton biomass, NEP, and biological oxygen demand. Imidacloprid reduced zooplankton density and caused marginally significant increases of NEP. Furthermore, imidacloprid frequently interacted non-additively with sedimentation and nutrient enrichment, but in contrast to our expectations, such interactions were mostly antagonistic at the stressor levels tested. Our results suggest that multiple stressor interactions and ecosystem processes should be considered when evaluating the impacts of insecticides on freshwater ecosystems.

Ana Chara-Serna (Primary Presenter/Author), Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, ana.chara@forestry.ubc.ca;


Luis B. Epele ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), CIEMEP (CONICET-UNPSJB), luisbepele@comahue-conicet.gob.ar;


John Richardson ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, john.richardson@ubc.ca;


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6/06/2017  |   09:45 - 10:00   |  305B

BENTHIC MICROBIAL COMMUNITY COMPOSITION AND ACTIVITY IN URBAN STREAMS WITH VARIED PHARMACEUTCIAL CONCENTRATIONS Urban streams contain a wide variety of anthropogenic contaminants, including industrial chemicals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products. Many of these contaminants interact with aquatic organisms and can significantly affect the ecology and function of freshwater ecosystems. To explore the relationship between anthropogenic contaminants and the function and structure of benthic microbial communities, we measured a suite of 15 pharmaceutical residues (using polar organic chemical integrative samplers) and compared the occurrence of these chemicals to the activity (respiration rates) and composition (assessed via high-throughput amplicon sequencing) of bacterial communities from three streams along a gradient of suburban to urban land use in Baltimore, MD. These sites span a range of nutrient concentrations and inputs of untreated human sewage from leaking infrastructure. We detected seven pharmaceuticals, with the highest concentrations occurring at the most urban site. Sediment bacterial abundance was similar at all sites, but the highest respiration rates and the lowest bacterial diversity were found at the most urban site. Metagenomic sequencing is also being used to assess differences in the relative abundance of key functional genes across the sites.

John Kelly (Primary Presenter/Author), Loyola University Chicago, Jkelly7@luc.edu;


Miguel Rojas ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Loyola University Chicago, mrojas103@gmail.com;


Heather Bechtold ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Lock Haven University , hab206@lhup.edu;


Daniel Snow ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Nebraska, dsnow1@unl.edu;


Emma Rosi ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, rosie@caryinstitute.org;


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6/06/2017  |   10:00 - 10:15   |  305B

DO HYDROLOGIC DISTURBANCES EXACERBATE OR MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF CONTAMINANTS IN URBAN STREAMS? Frequent flooding due to catchment urbanization tends to reduce the productivity and biomass of biofilms in urban streams, and may alter their ability to assimilate and transform contaminants. Understanding of how the timing of contaminant exposure (i.e. salt, pharmaceuticals, metals) may independently alter the recovery of biofilms between storms is limited. We conducted an artificial stream experiment in which treatment streams underwent a simulated storm. We then dosed streams with a chemical mixture mimicking a highly contaminated stream in Baltimore, MD in a pulse at different stages of biofilm recovery (1, 7, and 14 days post-storm). We did not observe changes in whole-stream gross primary productivity (P) relative to the control based on exposure timing. However, cumulative whole-stream respiration (R) was reduced by 47% in streams that received contaminant pulses, raising the P/R ratio of impacted streams. A week after exposure, nitrate uptake rates were 76% higher relative to the control in only the earliest exposure treatments. To understand the mechanisms underlying these changes in process rates, we calculated rates of contaminant bioaccumulation and investigated the composition of biofilm communities.

Joanna Blaszczak (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Nevada, Reno, jblaszczak@unr.edu;


Jennifer Rocca ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Duke University, jenny.rocca@gmail.com;


Emma Rosi ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, rosie@caryinstitute.org;


Emily Bernhardt ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Duke University, ebernhar@duke.edu;


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6/06/2017  |   10:15 - 10:30   |  305B

IMPACT OF GOLD NANOPARTICLES ON WETLAND ECOSYSTEM PRODUCTIVITY IS MORE THAN THE SUM OF THE PARTS Much of the focus of modern ecotoxicological studies is within the scale of genes to organisms and not ecosystems. Here, we examined the impacts of chronic addition of gold nanoparticles (Au-NP) on submerged macrophytes from the scale of stems to ecosystem in a nine-month wetland mesocosm study under both oligotrophic and eutrophic conditions. We assessed the physiological effects of Au-NPs on the dominant macrophyte (Egeria densa) by measuring photosynthesis and respiration rates at the stem-scale and gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration by monitoring diel O2 dynamics at the ecosystem-scale.    We observed decreased photosynthesis in the Au-NP oligotrophic treatment (-20 to -40%, P<0.01) and a decrease of both photosynthesis and respiration only after 90 days in eutrophic conditions (-42% and -63%, P<0.01). After 4-5 months of exposure, GPP decreased only in the Au-NP eutrophic treatment (-92%, P<0.001). Despite lasting stem-level effects on Egeria photosynthesis under oligotrophic conditions, GPP was reduced only under eutrophic conditions. Thus, this study highlights both the strong decoupling between individual responses and ecosystem-scale responses and demonstrates the influence of nutrient availability on nanomaterial ecotoxicity.

Marie Simonin (Primary Presenter/Author), Duke University, simonin.marie@gmail.com;


Brittany Perrotta ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Baylor University, bperrotta16@gmail.com;


Steven Anderson ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Duke University & Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association, sa165@duke.edu;


Christina Bergemann ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Duke University, cmbergemann@gmail.com;


Matthew Ruis ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Duke University, matthew.ruis@duke.edu ;


Benjamin Colman ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of Montana, ben.colman@umontana.edu;


Ryan S. King ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Baylor University, Ryan_S_King@baylor.edu;


Emily Bernhardt ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Duke University, ebernhar@duke.edu;


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