Presence and distribution of triazine herbicides and their effects on microbial communities in the Laizhou Bay, Northern China.

This study investigated the distribution of triazine herbicides in the Laizhou Bay, China and found that the total concentrations of triazine herbicides in the seawater and sediments were 111.15–234.85 ng/L and 0.902–4.661 μg/kg, respectively. Triazine herbicides especially ametryn, atrazine, and simazine were negatively correlated with prokaryote diversity in the seawater. While ametryn, desethylatrazine and desisopropylatrazine had positively significant effects on eukaryotes Dinophyceae, Bacillariophyta, and Cercozoa in the sediments. Moreover, the degree of fragmentation of eukaryotic networks increased dramatically with the increasing numbers of removed nodes, but prokaryotic networks did not change with the decrease of nodes. In addition, the stability analysis and neutral community models revealed that eukaryotes were more sensitive to triazine herbicides than prokaryotes. These results suggest that triazine herbicides might affect the structure and interactions of microbial communities. Therefore, more attentions should be paid to the ecological risk of triazine herbicides in marine ecosystems. [Display omitted] • Eight triazine herbicides (111.2–234.9 ng/L) were detected in the seawater. • Nine triazine herbicides (0.902–4.661 μg/kg) were detected in the sediment. • Triazine herbicides pollution was negatively correlated with dominant microorganisms. • The eukaryotes were more sensitive to triazine herbicides pollution than prokaryotes. • The ecological risk of herbicides pollution in marine ecosystems deserves more attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]