Many Animals Get a Buzz from Naturally Occurring Substances
You may be familiar with instances of wildlife appearing “drunk” after consuming naturally occurring “mind-altering” substances, such as fermented fruits containing ethanol, a form of alcohol.
In places like Texas and Southern California, flocks of Cedar Waxwing birds have been known to eat fermented berries, rendering them unable to fly safely and putting them at risk of hitting windows. The Texas Olive tree (also known as the Mexican Olive) may be one of the culprits; it makes a messy fruit that can quickly ferment in the hot summer sun.
Around the world, there are other instances of naturally occurring mind-altering substances affecting animals.
For example, reindeer in Eastern Europe are known to seek out the bright red Amanita muscaria “magic” mushrooms, which, while toxic to humans, can produce a hallucinogenic high in reindeer. (Could this be the reason behind Rudolph’s red nose?)
There are also narcotic lichen species that grow on exposed rock outcroppings in the Canadian Rockies; these attract wild bighorn sheep who seek out these hard-to-find lichen.
Jaguars in the South American jungles of the Amazon have been observed chewing the bark of the Yage vine, which creates a reaction similar to catnip in domestic cats.
Finally, down in the Australian island state of Tasmania, wallabies who munch on wild poppies growing in the fields can sometimes be seen wandering around in endless circles, unable to get their bearings.
Drugs Excreted by Humans are Ending Up in Our Waterways, Affecting Wildlife
While these examples feel amusing and a bit light-hearted, there is a serious side to wildlife drug exposure.
Here we are talking about drugs (both legal and illegal) that are intended for humans which are ending up in our waterways, potentially exposing wildlife to significant harm.
How does this occur?
In some cases, illegal drugs can end up tossed into the ocean, either on purpose (to evade discovery) or by accident during heavy seas.
On land, people often flush unused prescriptions down the toilet.
People taking drugs also excrete many of the active compounds as human waste, which also makes its way from the toilet to our wastewater treatment systems.
Unfortunately, most of these waste treatment systems are not designed to remove small traces of prescription or illicit drugs or other compounds, such as hormones, that can have a significant impact on wildlife once these treated waters reenter our waterways.
Mood Altering Drug Compounds Found in Waterways, such as Fluoxetine (Prozac), Can Significantly Change the Behavior of Fish
Chemicals derived from the mood-altering prescription drug fluoxetine (Prozac), used to treat depression (among other conditions) have been found in detectable concentrations in many water treatment systems.
In a recent paper titled “Long-term effects of widespread pharmaceutical pollution on trade-offs between behavioural, life-history and reproductive traits in fish,” published in the British Ecological Society Journal of Animal Ecology, researchers Upama Aich and Giovanni Polverino of Monash University in Victoria, Australia found that wild-caught male guppies exposed to fluoxetine (Prozac) significantly change their behavior.
Specifically, the researchers found that male guppies exposed to fluoxetine (Prozac) were less likely to take risks, such as exploring new environments, preferring instead to hide more. Male guppies also exhibited changes to their physical condition, including an increase in the size of their anterior fin (used for reproduction) and slower sperm speed (reducing the potential for reproductive success).
Illicit Shipments of Cocaine Fallen Overboard Are Affecting Shark Behavior in Brazil’s Coastal Waters
Another instance of drugs affecting the behavior of marine life is the exposure of sharks to cocaine (likely due to illicit cocaine shipments abandoned in the waters off the coast of Brazil), as well as benzoylecgonine, a cocaine-derived compound excreted in human urine after cocaine use.
Two recent studies have documented this phenomenon.
The first is research by a team from the Ocean Sciences Department at the University of Sao Paulo as well as the Ecotoxicology Laboratory at Santa Cecilia University in Santos, Brazil (doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.051) that confirmed the presence of cocaine/ benzoylecgonine as well as numerous pharmaceutical derived chemicals (acetaminophen, caffeine, diclofenac, ibuprofen, losartan and valsartan) throughout Brazilian coastal waters.
The second study, known by its headline-grabbing title “Cocaine Shark”: First report on cocaine and benzoylecgonine detection in sharks,” documents research by a team based out of the Laboratory for Environmental Health Assessment and Promotion at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio de Janeiro.
This team of researchers found that free-ranging Brazilian Sharpnose sharks had detectible amounts of cocaine and benzoylecgonine in their tissue, with higher concentrations of cocaine in the muscle tissue compared to the liver. Interestingly, the amount of drug compounds detected in female sharks depended on whether they were pregnant or not.
Can Something Be Done to Prevent Drug Exposure to Wildlife?
What can be done to prevent wildlife from being exposed to drug compounds intended for humans?
Well, one idea would be to eliminate illicit drug smuggling (which can lead to drug shipments ending up in the water) – but this has proven to be an ongoing challenge for decades.
Another idea is to encourage people taking prescription drugs or other substances that could affect wildlife to stop disposing of unused drugs by flushing them down the toilet. Many recycling centers have drug collection programs that can safely dispose of unwanted drugs without polluting the environment.
That leaves ordinary prescription drug users (as well as illicit drug users), who, probably unbeknownst to themselves, are potentially excreting detectable amounts of drug compounds into the water systems when they use the toilet.
It may be necessary to invest in more sophisticated water treatment systems to remove these potentially damaging drug compounds or hormones.
This effort reminds us of initiatives to eliminate so-called “forever chemicals” from our wastewater treatment facilities.
Perhaps there is a way to piggyback on recent “forever chemical” reduction programs, which could make removing drug compounds from treated water less costly compared to a standalone initiative.
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