Creosote toxicity to photosynthesis and plant growth in aquatic microcosms

✍ Scribed by Christopher A. Marwood; K. T. Jim Bestari; Robert W. Gensemer; Keith R. Solomon; Bruce M. Greenberg

• Book ID: 102196526
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 147 KB
• Volume: 22
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0730-7268
• DOI: 10.1002/etc.5620220515

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Measurement of contaminant effects becomes progressively more difficult at higher levels of ecological organization [1]. Bioindicators are rapid physiological or biochemical assays that provide a convenient means for detecting the exposure or effects of environmental contaminants to organisms, even if the toxicant is unknown. Many potential bioindicator assays are available, but the primary impediment to their widespread use in risk assessment is the lack of a demonstrated link between effects at the suborganism level with effects at the individual level and with higher levels of biological organization, such as populations or communities [2]. A bioindicator with a defined link to effects on growth or reproduction can be used in a predictive manner to assess potential impacts of a contaminant on populations of organisms. Effects of a stressor on bioindicator endpoints, which are easily measurable under controlled conditions, can then be extrapolated to the environment if the effects at the suborganism level are consistent with, and can be related to, effects at the whole‐organism and population levels.