Saturday 30 April 2022 The Guardian •
49had riskier behaviour. Crayfi shes’
exposure to antidepressants has
been linked to altered behaviour,
increasing their boldness and
the time they spent foraging,
potentially making them more
vulnerable to predators.
There are three main ways
wastewater ends up in the sea,
says Rachel Silverstein of the
environmental organisation
Miami Waterkeeper : sewage spills,
discharge of treated wastewater
into the ocean and malfunctioning
septic tanks. These have all been
major problems in Florida.
However, the problem is not
limited to Florida. Experts say
there is an urgent need to improve
wastewater infrastructure globally
to remove pharmaceuticals before
they reach the ocean.▼ Many anglers looking for bonefi sh,^
below, head for south Florida, but
numbers have dropped dramatically
PHOTOGRAPH: JOSE AZEL/GETTY/AURORA OPEN▼ A bonefi sh
swims in the
seagrass fl ats
PHOTOGRAPH:
FTLAUDGIRL/GETTY/
ISTOCKPHOTO12
Average number
of prescriptions
per person each
year in the US.
Some of the
medication ends
up in the sea Ollie Neas
WellingtonThey smell like sweet meat, destroy
vacuum cleaners and are wreaking
havoc across rural New Zealand.
An unusually wet summer has
brought joy to farmers and grief to
residents, as a plague of cluster fl ies
descends on homes in the Canterbury
and Wairarapa regions.
Cluster fl ies – which are larger,
more sluggish and smellier than a
common housefl y – pose no risk to
human health but can come as an
unwelcome surprise to those whose
houses they cluster in.
One homeowner told the Stuff
website she needed to run vacuum
cleaners in several rooms twice a day
just to clear the onslaught.
The infestation has meant good
business for pest control workers.
Daniel Highman, of Guaranteed
Pest Control in north Canterbury ,
said: “My alarm clock is basically my
phone ringing in the mornings with
clients in need of cluster eradication.
It’s been absolutely crazy.”Swat team called
in as fl ies plague
New Zealand