RESPONSE OF Gammarus pulex TO LOW CONCENTRATIONS OF ERYTHROMYCIN

Abstract

Pharmaceuticals are manufactured for the benefit of mankind and used for specific biological functions in veterinary
and human medicine. However, these substances after use enter the aquatic environment through different sources
either as parent compounds, metabolites or a combination of both. There are significant research gaps for thousands of
existing pharmaceuticals with regards to their potential ecological consequences on non-target species.
Pharmaceutical pollution is an emerging area of research in Africa and no work had been done in Nigeria on effects of
pharmaceuticals in river systems. In this study, the biological effects of one of the most frequently detected
pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment, erythromycin was investigated at environmentally relevant concentrations
reported for UK Rivers. Seventy-five (75) Gammarus pulex were employed in the laboratory experiments. Exposure
resulted in statistically significant decreases in feeding, growth and an increase in mortality. The feeding rate in the
control groups were higher than those in the treatment groups and G. pulex in the control groups gain weight.
Mortality among the treatment groups were consistent compared to the controls. Although pharmaceuticals are
indispensable to human health, but their usage and discharge into the aquatic environment may lead to ecological
problems and antibiotic resistance.