COCAINE IN RIVERS IS HARMING ENDANGERED EUROPEAN EELSThe presence of drugs in aquatic environments r

COCAINE IN RIVERS IS HARMING ENDANGERED EUROPEAN EELSThe presence of drugs in aquatic environments represents a new potential risk for aquatic organisms, due to their constant exposure to substances with strong pharmacological activity. Currently, little is known about the ecological effects of illicit drugs. Now, researchers found thateuropean eel (Anguilla anguilla) exposed to trace amount of cocaine in water can appeared hyperactive, with visible evidence of serious injuries in the skeletal muscle, including muscle breakdown and swelling.To understand how cocaine affects european eels, researchers intentionally polluted water with 20 billionths of a gram of cocaine per liter of water for 50 days, equivalent to amount of cocaine found in European rivers and water systems, then they monitored the effects. Cocaine impacted the muscle and changes the hormones of eels. These changes were still present 10 days after the interruption of cocaine exposure. European river eels are critically endangered, and the impact of cocaine on the eel physiology could be hindering their ability to migrate and reproduce. Even low environmental concentrations of cocaine cause severe damage to the morphology and physiology of the skeletal muscle of the european eel, confirming the harmful impact of cocaine in the environment that potentially affects the survival of this species. Reference: Capaldo et al., 2018. Effects of environmental cocaine concentrations on the skeletal muscle of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla). Science of The Total Environment -- source link

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