Max Rabus

From EESwiki

Dipl. biol. Max Rabus

Section of Evolutionary Biology
LMU BioCenter
Grosshaderner Str. 2
82152 Planegg-Martinsried
Germany

My PhD thesis

Long term consequences of veterinary pharmaceuticals on biotic interactions in aquatic ecosystems - Exemplarily studied by means of inducible defences in D. magna

Environmental contamination by pharmaceuticals used for human and veterinary treatment is becoming a global concern for both the scientific and the public community. Pharmaceutically active compounds have been detected in surface waters, sediments and even in drinking water resources across the world. The complex mixture of pharmaceuticals, even present in low doses, and their range of biochemical activity render them potentially hazardous to aquatic biota. As they were designed to have a biological effect in mammals at very low concentrations with a very specific target, they may elicit completely different reactions in non-target organisms. Consequently, harmful effects of chronic exposure may manifest gradually in organisms, ultimately resulting in irreversible ecosystem changes. The aim of this interdisciplinary study is to show how an exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of veterinary pharmaceuticals affects aquatic invertebrates and in turn aquatic ecosystems. Exemplarily this will be studied using the predator-prey-system Daphnia magna – Triops cancriformis. The outcome will identify the risks that veterinary pharmaceuticals pose to aquatic ecosystems and to the health of wildlife and humans and will significantly foster the improvement of management strategies in the future to prevent disastrous global effects that have occurred with other pollutants.