2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference
March 13 - 15, 2022
5/24/2021 | 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM | WASTEWATER ASSOCIATED CONTAMINANTS ALTER THE COMPOSITION AND ACTIVITY OF BENTHIC MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES | Virtual Platform
WASTEWATER ASSOCIATED CONTAMINANTS ALTER THE COMPOSITION AND ACTIVITY OF BENTHIC MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES
In highly urbanized areas, wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent can be a major input to freshwater ecosystems and can affect the composition and function of native benthic microbial communities, which are critical contributors to riverine biogeochemical processes. WWTP effluent can be a point source of a variety of emerging contaminants associated with consumer products, including pharmaceuticals and personal care products, illicit drugs, microplastics, and engineered nanomaterials. Because these contaminants are most often found at low concentrations in the environment, they are generally considered low risk. However, there is growing concern about the potential for these contaminants to disrupt microbially-driven ecosystem processes. We employed field studies and laboratory model systems to assess the relationships between emerging contaminants and the composition and activity of benthic microbial communities. Our results demonstrate that environmentally relevant concentrations of a variety of emerging contaminants can affect the taxonomic composition of microbial communities, e.g. by selecting for resistant taxa and pathogens, and alter rates of ecosystem processes, e.g. by decreasing respiration and primary production. These results demonstrate significant ecological implications of wastewater in freshwater systems.
- Urban streams
- Contaminants
- Biogeochemistry
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Presenters/Authors
John Kelly
(), Loyola University Chicago, Jkelly7@luc.edu;
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