A systematic review of how endocrine disrupting contaminants are sampled in environmental compartments: wildlife impacts are overshadowed by environmental surveillance.

Abstract

Abstract Endocrine disrupting contaminants (EDCs) are frequently monitored in environments because of their biological impacts on wildlife and humans. We conducted a systematic review using Web of Science to identify global research trends in abiotic and biotic EDC environmental sampling. Specifically, we aim to better understand geographic variation in 1) the compartment that EDCs were sampled in the environment; 2) the types of EDC sampled; and 3) the taxa that are sampled. A total of 9,140 papers were found in our search, of which 2,554 were included in our review. The number of studies sampling environmental EDCs varied between continents, with the majority of research occurring in Europe, Asia, and North America. Across all continents, water was the most frequently sampled compartment to determine environmental EDC concentrations, and was sampled in 50–75% of studies across continents. Wildlife were sampled far less often in studies across all continents, and comprised of 30% of studies at most. Pharmaceuticals were the most-commonly studied chemical group, and fish were the most-commonly sampled taxonomic group. Although far fewer studies sampled for EDC’s in wildlife compared with abiotic compartments (i.e. water). These studies provide valuable information on the potential consequences of environmental EDC exposure and link environmental surveillance of EDCs with lab-measured organism-level effects. Studies that sampled only the water matrix for EDCs may be doing so as a proxy despite the large knowledge gaps on how environmental EDCs affect wildlife at varying concentrations.