W@TC | FEB 6 | Effects of Antibiotics on the Structure and Function of Planktonic and Attached Microbial Communities from an Effluent Dominated Prairie Stream

Recent worldwide surveys have established the ubiquitous presence of pharmaceuticals in surface waters receiving treated sewage effluent. Stream systems where such effluent dominates flow may be at the highest risk for ecosystem level changes. A monitoring study conducted on Wascana Creek, Saskatchewan, Canada indicated that antibiotics were always present in stream water for at least 50 km below the sewage outfall. Subsequent field and laboratory research indicated that these antibiotics have effects on aquatic microbial (algae and bacteria) community structure and function at concentrations currently seen in effluent dominated aquatic ecosystems.