Credit: (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
Traces amounts of Prozac (fluoxetine) in rivers and streams endanger fresh water mussels, according to research presented at the 232nd American Chemical Society National Meeting in San Francisco. When exposed to the popular antidepressant drug, female fresh water mussels prematurely release larvae, greatly reducing their chances of survival. About 70 percent of the fresh water mussel species native to North America are extinct, endangered or declining.