Troy Martin, MSc Candidate, Arnott Lab Effects of 'eco-friendly' road de-icer alternatives on freshwater ecosystems Increasing use of de-icing salt on roads and paved surfaces is contributing to rising salinity in freshwater, threatening aquatic ecosystems. In response, novel road de-icers advertised as “eco-friendly” have been developed and are widely used in large cities across North America. Despite this, research on road salt alternative toxicity rarely extends beyond individual species, and community and ecosystem-level testing remain limited. We used outdoor mesocosms to test how zooplankton communities, important primary consumers in aquatic systems, responded to three de-icers: rock salt (NaCl), an organic alternative (beet-brine), and an inorganic alternative (NaCl, CaCl2, MgCl2). We found that both alternatives were toxic to zooplankton and decreased total abundance and richness of communities. Cladocerans and copepods were more sensitive than rotifers for all de-icers, indicating differential sensitivities that would impact community composition, species interactions, and ecosystem function. We further saw impacts at the zooplankton species level and at the bacterial community level, indicating that de-icers might have impacts at various trophic levels. These results are worrisome because they suggest that some de-icer alternatives might not be as “eco-friendly” as advertised, despite their growing use across North America.
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