engleski

Lateral Transport of Pharmaceuticals and Endocrine Disruptors in Riparian Zone Through Food Webs

Sewage pollution causes the presence of pharmaceuticals (PhAC) and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in freshwaters worldwide. Like many other emerging contaminants (ECs), PhACs and EDCs can be bioaccumulated in various aquatic organisms. Emergence of aquatic insects connects aquatic and terrestrial food webs in riparian zones causing transfer of pollutants from aquatic to terrestrial food webs. Data on such contaminant flux are very scarce for PhACs and EDCs ; for instance, lateral transport through food webs in the riparian zone is still unexplored. With the aim of exploring how food web linkages impact transfer from aquatic to terrestrial ecosystem of PhACs and EDCs we conducted an in situ study at a river stretch impacted by the WWTP effluents. More specifically, to study transport of the ECs laterally into the riparian zone, sampling sites on one riverbank were split into three transects – aquatic and two in riparian zone (0-1 m and 1-3 m distance from the waterline, respectively). Sampling involved invertebrates belonging to various levels of food webs, as well as soil, water, biofilm and macrophytes samples. All samples were screened for 123 compounds using ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) system coupled to a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer. First results show that 65% of ECs were detected across all samples ; however, presence and concentrations of individual compounds vary among sample types. For instance, bisphenol-A (BPA), a chemical widely used in plastics manufacturing, was present in majority of sample types ; however, in low concentrations (e.g., up to 0.4 ng/g dry weight in biofilm, up to 1.64 and 2.96 ng/g dry weight in soil and macrophytes, respectively). Furthermore, BPA concentrations in riparian spiders declined with distance from the waterline in the riparian zone, highlighting the importance of trophic transfer of waterborne pollutants into terrestrial habitats, as emerging aquatic insects are known to represent the major food source of riparian spiders. Through providing new insights on food web flux and related lateral extent of the subsidy in the riparian zone, this study will contribute to understanding of the cross-ecosystem flux of PhACs and EDCs.

Bioaccumulation ; Endocrine disrupting compounds ; Food web

nije evidentirano