the highest concentrations occurring downstream from manufacturing and industrial use plants, areas near aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) use sites, and sites where PFOS precursors were used in textile treatment. Non-point source related occurrences are highest near urbanized areas with high population densities. Current data illustrates the occurrence of PFOS in surface waters across multiple U.S. states. Additional data are needed to better understand PFOS occurrence in U.S. aquatic ecosystems, particularly in estuarine and marine systems and where monitoring data are not available (e.g., southwestern, central, and western U.S.). Additional PFOS occurrence data would provide valuable information on potential spatial and temporal variability in surface waters, and possible risks posed to aquatic ecosystems.

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Pharmaceutical pollutants are commonly detected in freshwater ecosystems around the world and have biological effects on aquatic organisms. However, current understanding of the influence this contaminant class has on freshwater communities and ecosystems is lacking. Recently the scientific community has called for research focusing on certain pharmaceuticals due to their ubiquity and potential toxicity. Carbamazepine is one of these pharmaceuticals. To better understand the effect carbamazepine has on life history characteristics of aquatic organisms and consumer-resource interactions, we quantified the influence of carbamazepine on the development, growth and behavior of mayfly nymphs (Stenonema sp.) and the alterations in food consumer-resource interactions between Stenonema and algae (Chaetophora). Microcosms were assembled in a factorial design containing algae and mayfly nymphs native to central Indiana and dosed with environmentally relevant concentrations of carbamazepine. From this ecotoxicological experiment we were able to infer that carbamazepine at 2,000 ng/L influenced the development and behavior of Stenonema nymphs and the body dimensions of adult individuals. However, it appears that carbamazepine does not influence consumer-resource interactions at concentrations found in surface waters. The pharmaceutical carbamazepine may influence the behavior, growth and development of mayflies, which could have significant consequences at the population, community and ecosystem level.