To determine the presence of emergent contaminants in aquatic environments and to evaluate responses of the dominant taxa of benthic macrofauna, seven stations were sampled along three rivers that serve as public water suppliers in three sampling campaigns, in the Upper Iguassu Basin, Brazil. Concentrations of ethinylestradiol, fenofibrate, ibuprofen and triclosan were detected in the water and sediment. To correlate patterns of distribution and abundance benthic fauna with the various contaminants found a redundancy analysis (RDA) was applied and showed positive relationships between faunal groups, that indicate stress (such as Tubificinae), and emerging pollutants (such as ibuprofen and ethinylestradiol). The analysis also showed that the most influential variables in the distribution of the fauna were exclusively anthropogenic, which shows that these compounds can be harmful and that the rivers destined for the supply are receiving pollutant loads.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.