Abstract:
The use of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals is increasing. Over the past
decade, there has been a proliferation of research into potential environmental
impacts of pharmaceuticals in the environment. A Royal Society-supported
seminar brought together experts from diverse scientific fields to discuss
the risks posed by pharmaceuticals to wildlife. Recent analytical advances
have revealed that pharmaceuticals are entering habitats via water, sewage,
manure and animal carcases, and dispersing through food chains. Pharmaceuticals
are designed to alter physiology at low doses and so can be particularly
potent contaminants. The near extinction of Asian vultures following exposure
to diclofenac is the key example where exposure to a pharmaceutical caused a
population-level impact on non-target wildlife. However, more subtle changes
to behaviour and physiology are rarely studied and poorly understood. Grand
challenges for the future includedevelopingmore realistic exposure assessments
forwildlife, assessingthe impacts ofmixtures ofpharmaceuticals in combination
with otherenvironmental stressors andestimating the risks frompharmaceutical
manufacturing and usage in developing countries. We concluded that an integration
of diverse approaches is required to predict ‘unexpected’ risks;
specifically, ecologically relevant, often long-termand non-lethal, consequences
of pharmaceuticals in the environment for wildlife and ecosystems.
