Stream microbial communities and ecosystem functioning show complex responses to multiple stressors in wastewater.

ABSTRACT: Multiple anthropogenic drivers are changing ecosystems globally, with a disproportionate and intensifying impact on freshwater habitats. A major impact of urbanization are inputs from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Initially designed to reduce eutrophication and improve water quality, WWTPs increasingly release a multitude of micropollutants (MPs; i.e., synthetic chemicals) and microbes (including antibiotic-resistant bacteria) to receiving environments. This pollution may have pervasive impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Viewed through multiple lenses of macroecological and ecotoxicological theory, we combined field, flume, and laboratory experiments to determine the effects of wastewater (WW) on microbial communities and organic-matter processing using a standardized d

SUBMITTER: Burdon FJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7692915 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature