0000000000180163
AUTHOR
Christian Stamm
Effects of anthropogenic stress on hosts and their microbiomes: Treated wastewater alters performance and gut microbiome of a key detritivore ( Asellus aquaticus )
Human activity is a major driver of ecological and evolutionary change in wild populations and can have diverse effects on eukaryotic organisms as well as on environmental and host-associated microbial communities. Although host-microbiome interactions can be a major determinant of host fitness, few studies consider the joint responses of hosts and their microbiomes to anthropogenic changes. In freshwater ecosystems, wastewater is a widespread anthropogenic stressor that represents a multifarious environmental perturbation. Here, we experimentally tested the impact of treated wastewater on a keystone host (the freshwater isopod Asellus aquaticus) and its gut microbiome. We used a semi-natur…
Wastewater constituents impact biofilm microbial community in receiving streams
Microbial life in natural biofilms is dominated by prokaryotes and microscopic eukaryotes living in dense association. In stream ecosystems, microbial biofilms influence primary production, elemental cycles, food web interactions as well as water quality. Understanding how biofilm communities respond to anthropogenic impacts, such as wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent, is important given the key role of biofilms in stream ecosystem function. Here, we implemented 16S and 18S rRNA gene sequencing of stream biofilms upstream (US) and downstream (DS) of WWTP effluents in four Swiss streams to test how bacterial and eukaryotic communities respond to wastewater constituents. Stream biofil…
Environmental context determines pollution impacts on ecosystem functioning
Global change assessments have typically ignored synthetic chemical pollution, despite the rapid increase of pharmaceuticals, pesticides and industrial chemicals in the environment. Part of the problem reflects the multifarious origins of these micropollutants, which can derive from urban and agricultural sources. Understanding how micropollutants harm ecosystems is a major scientific challenge due to asymmetries of stress across trophic levels and ecological surprises generated by multiple drivers interacting in human-impacted landscapes. We used field assays above and below municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in 60 sampling locations across 20 Swiss streams to test how micropoll…