Antibiotics in surface waters of the south caspian sea: Occurrence, spatial distribution and ecological risks

Marine environments play a crucial role in absorbing land-based pollutants. While the presence of pharmaceuticals in various marine settings worldwide is well-documented, there is a lack of data regarding pharmaceutical occurrence in the south Caspian Sea. This study examined the presence and spatial distribution of 14 antibiotics in the surface waters of the south Caspian Sea during summer of 2020. Our findings revealed that antibiotics were widespread in this region, with total concentrations reaching up to 3499.9 ng/L. The detection frequencies of the studied antibiotics ranging from 22.0% to 67.0%. Trimethoprim, ofloxacin, and sulfamethoxazole were commonly detected, with detection frequencies exceeding 56.0%. Ofloxacin (235.8 ng/L) and Erythromycin-H₂O (2.3 ng/L) had the highest and lowest detected concentrations among the studied antibiotics. Furthermore, fluoroquinolones exhibited notably higher concentrations compared to other antibiotic groups. The highest concentrations of most antibiotics were found in surface waters collected from Ramsar and Chalus stations, located in the middle section of the coastline. Across all transects, the distribution of antibiotics exhibited a decreasing trend towards the sea, indicating that coastal and inland aquaculture, as well as municipal wastewaters, were probably the primary sources of antibiotics in this area. Multivariate analysis revealed that antibiotics, phosphate, nitrate, and COD were all positively correlated with stations Ram-1, Ram-20, Cha-1, Cha-20, and Tor-1, where the highest antibiotic levels were recorded. Risk assessment indicated that clarithromycin, ofloxacin and enrofloxacin posed medium to high risks to aquatic organisms. These findings offer essential baseline information and valuable insights for the comparative assessment of future antibiotic data in the south Caspian Sea.