As we all know, lots of people in the world are taking antidepressant drugs (unfortunately).
And essentially, the medication goes through our bodies and into our sewers and waste systems- which leads to estuaries and the ocean.
This being said, there are rising levels of antidepressants in coastal waters which could alter sea-life behavior and potentially damage the food-chain.
At the University of Portsmouth’s Institute of Marine Sciences (UK)- research has been done with the behavior of shrimps exposed to antidepressant fluoxetine.
The results showed dramatic effects from the drug upon the shrimp. The shrimp were 5x more likely to swim towards the light than away from it- making them more vulnerable to predators being more visible near the surface. This could have devastating effects ultimately on the overall shrimp population- which could effect the overall ecosystem.
The shrimp were exposed to the same levels of fluoxetine found in the waste water that flows to rivers and estuaries as a result of drugs found in human feces (ie. sewage).
CRAZY! Humans consume so much caffeine – that now our oceans have a high level of caffeine in it from sewage runoff.
Photography + Science = Chanel 