Comparison of water, sediment, and plants for the monitoring of antibiotics: a case study on a river dedicated to fish farming.
Oxolinic acid, flumequine, oxytetracycline, and florfenicol are antibiotics commonly used in farming. Because an important percentage of these antibiotics given to fish and cattle ends up, directly or indirectly, in the freshwater environment, suitable tools for the monitoring of these antibiotics are needed. A French river was chosen because of the location of four fish farms and a sewage plant on its main course. First, a passive monitoring program involving water, sediment, and autochthonous bryophytes was performed at 25 sampling sites tested once every three months for one year. Second, an active monitoring method was performed using moss bags for a one-month exposure period, both upstream and downstream of each potential source of antibiotics. Sediment and bryophyte samples, but not water samples, were found to be useful for monitoring environmental contamination by oxolinic acid, flumequine, oxytetracycline, and florfenicol. Sediments and bryophytes also appeared to be complementary media for dating the river's contamination by antibiotics. Data collected by both active and passive monitoring methods confirmed contamination of the river, mainly by flumequine and oxytetracycline, attributable to fish farming but also to terrestrial animal farming and perhaps human pharmaceuticals.
Pouliquen
Hervé
H
National Institute of Agriculture Research-National Veterinary School of Nantes, No. 1300 Bioagressor, National Veterinary School of Nantes, Nantes, France. pouliquen@vet-nantes.fr
Delépée
Raphaël
R
Thorin
Chantal
C
Haury
Jacques
J
Larhantec-Verdier
Michaëlle
M
Morvan
Marie-Line
ML
Le Bris
Hervé
H
D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D017756:Aquaculture; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy; D005399:Fishes; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D010944:Plants / Q000737:chemistry*; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014867:Water