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Major: Marine Biology

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Effects of Human Pharmaceuticals on Daphnia magna Physiology and Behavior Presence of pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments has become an increasing concern since they were first documented in 1977. The continuous increasing use of human and animal pharmaceuticals requires the constant evaluation of their impacts on such organisms. While multiple studies have examined effects of pharmaceuticals on aquatic non-target organisms, there is a need to conduct high-throughput assessment of several pharmaceuticals at the same time and to examine several biological end-points (e.g., behavior and physiology) to provide a comprehensive understanding of the effects of pharmaceuticals on aquatic wildlife. The goal of this study was to examine the physiological (oxygen consumption rate) and behavioral (changes in movement patterns) effects in the freshwater aquatic invertebrate species, Daphnia magna. Adult Daphnia were exposed for 24h to either nicotine, carbamazepine or prednisone at 10ug/L and 100ug/L. These pharmaceuticals were selected due to their ubiquitous presence in the aquatic environment and high usage and prescription rate. Metabolic rate and movement ability (distance moved, velocity of movement) were determined using a microrespirometer and a Daniovision tracking system. Results show that each pharmaceutical had different effects on oxygen consumption rate but there did not appear to be a concentration related effect (10 ug/L vs 100 ug/L). In contrast, dose-dependent effects were seen in the behavioral data (distance moved and velocity of movement). Results will be discussed in the context of their medical application in target users to enhance understanding of how human pharmaceuticals affect non-target freshwater aquatic organisms. Poster Session 3 1:00 PM-2:00 PM CT Room C Poster #12: Colin Luu Major: Biology

Source:

Texas A&M University / 2026

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Major: Marine Biology