Biology Professor Explains How Ibuprofen is Damaging Our Ecosystem

Allison Welch, biology professor
Photo by Karson Photography

Kermit the Frog wasn’t kidding: It’s not easy being green – and Allison Welch can back him up. In her research on the effects of environmental changes on tadpoles and frogs, the assistant professor of biology has found that both increased salinity and the degradation of common drugs (i.e., ibuprofen and naproxen) in our waterways is damaging our ecosystem.

Q: Why are over-the-counter pharmaceuticals a problem for frogs and other amphibians?

A: The drugs pass through our bodies and come out in the water because waste treatment centers don’t remove them. Once they’re in our waterways, they don’t just go away – they continue to affect the environment. That is what we’re looking at: the problems that pharmaceutical pollution creates in the long run.

In collaboration with Wendy Cory, associate professor of chemistry, Welch and her undergraduate research team have found that the degradation of the molecules is more harmful than the original compounds. The molecules can kill, paralyze or make the tadpoles lethargic.

RELATED: Read more in the Fall 2014 issue of College of Charleston Magazine.

Q: What about increasing salinity? Why is that happening, and what kind of threat does salinity pose?

A: There are a number of things that introduce salinity to freshwater. In our area, storm surges; in the North, road de-icers; in the drier parts of the country, agricultural practices. Amphibians can’t be in a really salty habitat; they are just burdened by salinity. This is a problem because, as amphibian populations struggle and decline, the balance of our entire ecosystem is thrown off.

Q: Why frogs and tadpoles?

A: I’m interested in general amphibian ecology, so the evolution and behavior of amphibians. Many of our aquatic species are declining, and amphibians more than others. So, we’re concerned with these in particular. It helps that frogs and tadpoles so easy to work with – and they’re completely harmless. They just sit there being cute.

RELATED: Read about biology professor Barbara Beckingham’s research on the effects of microplastics on the environment.