Pollution-induced community tolerance (PICT): towards an ecologically relevant risk assessment of chemicals in aquatic systems

• A major challenge in environmental risk assessment of pollutants is establishing a causal relationship between field exposure and community effects that integrates both structural and functional complexity within ecosystems. Pollution-induced community tolerance (PICT) is a concept that evaluates whether pollutants have exerted a selection pressure on natural communities. PICT detects whether a pollutant has eliminated sensitive species from a community and thereby increased its tolerance. PICT has the potential to link assessments of the ecological and chemical status of ecosystems by providing causal analysis for effect-based monitoring of impacted field sites. Using PICT measurements and microbial community endpoints in environmental assessment schemes could give more ecological relevance to the tools that are now used in environmental risk assessment. Here, we propose practical guidance and a list of research issues that should be further considered to apply the PICT concept in the field.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Oceanografi, hydrologi och vattenresurser (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Oceanography, Hydrology and Water Resources (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

aquatic ecology

bioindicator

chemical status

ecological status

ecotoxicology

heterotrophic biofilm communities

species-sensitivity distributions

periphyton communities

ecosystem function

multiple stressors

marine

periphyton

river health

toxicity assessment

herbicide exposure

fluvial biofilms

Marine & Freshwater Biology

bioindicator

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)