Occurrence of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in sewage and receiving waters at Spitsbergen and in Norway

Prozac in the water: Chronic fluoxetine exposure and predation risk interact to shape behaviors in an estuarine crab

“…Fluoxetine is one of the most widely used antidepressants in the world (Ankley et al., 2007; Brooks et al., 2003) and a large amount of research has documented its occurrence in aquatic (Bringolf et al., 2010; Corcoran et al., 2010; Kwon & Armbrust, 2006; Ramirez et al., 2009) and marine (Kreke & Dietrich, 2008; Vasskog et al., 2008) environments. With growing human populations in coastal zones, increasing use of antidepressants like fluoxetine is expected, suggesting higher future concentrations in the marine environment.…”

“…To address this data gap, we conducted a laboratory study to assess how predator presence and prolonged exposure to the pharmaceutical contaminant fluoxetine interact to shape risk behaviors among the shore crab, Hemigrapsus oregonensis . Fluoxetine has been frequently detected in coastal areas at low concentrations (0.03–300 ng/L; Kreke & Dietrich, 2008; Vasskog et al., 2008) and is considered toxic to fish and marine invertebrates at high concentrations (Brooks et al., 2003). We were interested in the role of fluoxetine as a persistent ecological stressor in estuaries where sublethal concentrations between 3 and 30 ng/L are commonly detected (Kreke & Dietrich, 2008; Vasskog et al., 2008).…”

“…Fluoxetine has been frequently detected in coastal areas at low concentrations (0.03–300 ng/L; Kreke & Dietrich, 2008; Vasskog et al., 2008) and is considered toxic to fish and marine invertebrates at high concentrations (Brooks et al., 2003). We were interested in the role of fluoxetine as a persistent ecological stressor in estuaries where sublethal concentrations between 3 and 30 ng/L are commonly detected (Kreke & Dietrich, 2008; Vasskog et al., 2008). We conducted a series of diurnal and nocturnal behavioral trials over 9 weeks to assess whether fluoxetine exposure altered risk behaviors of H. oregonensis in response to a predator, the red rock crab Cancer productus .…”

Ecotoxicological aspects related to the presence of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment

“…This pharmaceutical was also detected in surface waters [23,188], groundwaters [28] and drinking water [32]. Other SSRIs, such as fluvoxamine, sertraline and paroxetine have also been detected in STP influents and effluents [186][187][188] as well as seawater (Nor-way) [187]. Antidepressants were detected at low concentrations (ng L −1 ) which may not represent isolated threats to non-target organisms when considering the respective contribution.…”

“…Fluoxetine is a typical example, being detected in STP influents at concentrations of 0.4-18.7 ng L −1 and in effluents in the lower range of 0.12-8.4 ng L −1 [186][187][188]. This pharmaceutical was also detected in surface waters [23,188], groundwaters [28] and drinking water [32].…”