Search

An excerpt from the opening chapter Transformative Politics of Nature: Overcoming Barriers to Conservation in Canada, edited by Andrea Olive, Chance Finegan, and Karen F. Beazley (University of Toronto Press, 2023).

In response to recent alignment of political leadership in Canada and the United States with respect to global nature conservation imperatives, a nascent and intentional dialogue has emerged on transboundary connectivity conservation between the two countries. In February and April 2021, two meetings were remotely convened, bringing together more than 160 participants from key government agencies, non-governmental organizations and Indigenous Nations engaged in conservation in both countries. Participants generated 25 concrete ideas for key next steps and 11 broad strategies that, when considered together, comprise 11 priority policy directions. Among these, four core policy imperatives include (1) prioritizing opportunities to coordinate within and among Indigenous communities, (2) creating formalized memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and funding commitments between the US and Canada, (3) mainstreaming connectivity into sectors and society, and (4) initiating systemwide changes in governance and economic structures. Together, these policy directions represent important strategies at this crucial inflection point. Only rarely are nations given historic policy alignment opportunities to redefine and reinvigorate their common conservation goals. Particularly salient is the drive to embrace transboundary connectivity conservation as a nature-based solution to climate change adaptation. We see this dialogue as a beginning in securing the peace that defines two countries and numerous Indigenous Nations that are inextricably linked by ecology and culture.

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) include over-the-counter and prescription drugs, veterinary drugs, fragrances, and cosmetics. PPCPs have been detected in aquatic environments at low concentrations and are emerging as contaminants of concern. PPCPs are primarily released into aquatic environments via untreated sewage, wastewater treatment plants, landfill leachate and can affect aquatic life through persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity. However, there are limited reviews of lethal and sublethal effects of PPCP exposures on aquatic organisms. To understand PPCP toxicity on aquatic organisms, a literature review was conducted that identified aquatic organisms known to be affected by PPCPs; concentrations of PPCPs reported as producing sublethal and lethal effects in aquatic organisms; and research gaps on PPCP aquatic toxicity. Twelve PPCPs were selected from three seminal studies for review, including bisphenol A, carbamazepine, erythromycin, fluoxetine, linear alkylbenzene sulfonate, metoprolol, naproxen, nonylphenol, ofloxacin, sertraline, sulfamethoxazole, and triclosan. Many aquatic species were affected by PPCPs at sublethal and lethal exposures, including sublethal effects at environmentally relevant concentrations. Because lethal effects were seldom observed at environmentally relevant concentrations, many studies considered PPCPs non-toxic. Few studies have compared effects of PPCPs on the same organisms for identical exposure parameters (time and concentration), resulting in wide variation in reported toxicity levels with limited consensus in the academic literature. Consensus in lethal concentrations was reported for Daphnia magna with 48 h exposure for bisphenol A and triclosan and Vibrio fischeri with 15 min exposure to carbamazepine. Environmentally relevant sublethal concentrations were higher than water quality guidelines developed for Canada and predicted no-effect concentrations derived globally. Species sensitivity distributions for some PPCPs show that aquatic species are affected lethally at environmentally relevant concentrations. More studies on indirect and long-term ecological effects along with testing chronic toxicity of PPCPs at environmentally relevant concentrations are recommended. These will help guide future research to determine extent and magnitude of PPCP concentrations in aquatic environments and help inform management decisions to reduce sources of PPCPs into the environment. Future management requires effective monitoring strategies regarding use, disposal, occurrence, and impacts at different life cycle stages of PPCPs in the environment. Key words: emerging contaminants, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), aquatic organisms, aquatic toxicity, lethal and sublethal effects, species sensitivity distributions (SSDs). Les produits pharmaceutiques et de soins personnels (PPSP) comprennent les medicaments en vente libre et sur ordonnance, les medicaments veterinaires, les parfums et les cosmetiques. Des PPSP ont ete detectes dans les milieux aquatiques a de faibles concentrations et apparaissent comme des contaminants soulevant des inquietudes. Les PPSP sont principalement rejetes dans les milieux aquatiques dans les eaux usees non traitees, par les stations d'epuration des eaux usees et dans les lixiviats de decharge et peuvent affecter la vie aquatique par leur persistance, leur bioaccumulation et leur toxicite. Cependant, il existe peu d'etudes sur les effets letaux et subletaux des expositions aux PPSP sur les organismes aquatiques. Pour comprendre la toxicite des PPSP sur les organismes aquatiques, une revue de la litterature a ete realisee, qui a identifie les organismes aquatiques reconnus etre affectes par les PPSP; les concentrations de PPSP signalees comme produisant des effets subletaux et letaux chez les organismes aquatiques; et les lacunes de la recherche sur la toxicite des PPSP en milieu aquatique. Douze PPSP ont ete selectionnes dans trois etudes fondamentales pour etre examines, notamment le bisphenol A, la carbamazepine, l'erythromycine, la fluoxetine, l'alkylbenzene sulfonate lineaire, le metoprolol, le naproxene, le nonylphenol, 1'ofloxacine, la sertraline, le sulfamethoxazole et le triclosan. De nombreuses especes aquatiques etaient affectees par les PPSP a des expositions subletales et letales, dont des effets subletaux a des concentrations pertinentes d'un point de vue environnemental. Comme les effets letaux ont rarement ete observes a des concentrations pertinentes d'un point de vue environnemental, de nombreuses etudes ont considere les PPSP comme non toxiques. Peu d'etudes ont compare les effets des PPSP sur les memes organismes pour des parametres d'exposition identiques (temps et concentration), ce qui a entraine une grande variation des niveaux de toxicite signales, avec un consensus limite dans la litterature universitaire. Un consensus sur les concentrations letales a ete rapporte pour Daphnia magna lors d'une exposition de 48 h au bisphenol A et au triclosan et pour Vibrio fischeri lors d'une exposition de 15 min a la carbamazepine. Les concentrations subletales pertinentes d'un point environnemental etaient superieures aux recommandations pour la qualite de l'eau elaborees pour le Canada et les concentrations estimees sans effet calculees a l'echelle mondiale. Les distributions de sensibilite des especes pour certains PPSP montrent que les especes aquatiques sont affectees de maniere letale a des concentrations pertinentes pour l'environnement. II est recommande de realiser davantage d'etudes sur les effets ecologiques indirects et a long terme et de tester la toxicite chronique des PPSP a des concentrations pertinentes pour l'environnement. Ces etudes permettront d'orienter les recherches futures afin de determiner l'etendue et l'ampleur des concentrations de PPSP dans les milieux aquatiques et d'eclairer les decisions de gestion visant a reduire les sources de PPSP dans l'environnement. La gestion future necessite des strategies de surveillance efficaces concernant l'utilisation, l'elimination, la presence et les effets des PPSP dans l'environnement aux differentes etapes de leur cycle de vie. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles : contaminants emergents, produits pharmaceutiques et de soins personnels (PPSP), organismes aquatiques, toxicite aquatique, effets letaux et subletaux, distribution de la sensibilite des especes (SSD)., Introduction Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) comprise numerous classes of chemicals. Pharmaceuticals include different categories of drugs such as antibiotics, antihypertensives, antiepileptics, anti-inflammatory drugs, and analgesics. Personal care products [...]

Abstract: Environmental factors determine the habitat selection, use and distribution of species at various spatial scales. Understanding the factors driving these distributions can help predict areas of higher species occurrence, [...]