Persistent pharmaceuticals in a South African urban estuary and bioaccumulation in endobenthic sandprawns (Kraussillichirus kraussi)

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dc.contributor.authorPetrik, Leslie
dc.contributor.authorMurgatroyd, Olivia
dc.contributor.authorOjemaye, Cecilia
dc.date.accessioned2025-12-02T10:30:12Z
dc.date.available2025-12-02T10:30:12Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.description.abstractPharmaceuticals are increasingly being detected in coastal ecosystems globally, but contamination and bioaccumulation levels are understudied in temporarily closed estuaries. In these systems, limited freshwater inputs and periodic closure may predispose them to pharmaceutical accumulation. We quantified in situ water column pharmaceutical levels at five sites in a temporarily closed model urban estuary (Zandvlei Estuary) in Cape Town, South Africa, that has been heavily anthropogenically modified. The results indicate an almost 100-fold greater concentration of pharmaceuticals in the estuary relative to False Bay, into which the estuary discharges, with acetaminophen (max: 2.531 µg/L) and sulfamethoxazole (max: 0.138 µg/L) being the primary pollutants. Acetaminophen was potentially bioaccumulative, while nevirapine, carbamazepine and sulfamethoxazole were bioaccumulated (BAF > 5000 L/kg) by sandprawns (Kraussillichirus kraussi), which are key coastal endobenthic ecosystem engineers in southern Africa. The assimilative capacity of temporarily closed estuarine environments may be adversely impacted by wastewater discharges that contain diverse pharmaceuticals, based upon the high bioaccumulation detected in key benthic engineers.
dc.identifier.citationMurgatroyd, O., Petrik, L., Ojemaye, C.Y. and Pillay, D., 2025. Persistent Pharmaceuticals in a South African Urban Estuary and Bioaccumulation in Endobenthic Sandprawns (Kraussillichirus kraussi). Water, 17(15), p.2289.
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.3390/w17152289
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10566/21496
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
dc.subjectantibiotics
dc.subjectbioaccumulation
dc.subjectecosystem engineer
dc.subjectpollution
dc.subjecttemporarily closed estuary
dc.titlePersistent pharmaceuticals in a South African urban estuary and bioaccumulation in endobenthic sandprawns (Kraussillichirus kraussi)
dc.typeArticle

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