Bioindicators communities

Wildlife indicators of mercury exposure and trends are important elements of a comprehensive approach to assess mercury in the environment and the monitoring of trends that may assist regulators and the regulated community in long-term evalnation of the need and usefulness of mercury somce controls. It is important to understand, however, that bioindicator data alone are insufficient to answer snch critical qnestions as identification of mercniy sonrces, or the relative importance of local, regional, and global inputs of mercury somces to atmospheric deposition and errvirorrmerrtal loading in specific areas. 

Bongers T, Ferris H (1999) Nematode community structure as a bioindicator in environmental monitoring. Trends Ecol Evol 14 224-228... 

A hiomonitor, on the other hand, is an organism (or a part of an organism or a community of organisms) that contains information on the quantitative aspects of the quality of the environment. A biomonitor always is also a bioindicator, but a bioindicator does not necessarily meet the requirements for a biomonitor. 

Glenn, M.G., Gomez-Bolea, A., Lobello, R., 1995. Metal content and community structure of cryptogam bioindicators in relation to vehicular traffic in Montseny Biosphere Reserve (Catalonia, Spain). Lichenologist 27, 291-304. 

Tonneijck AEG, Van Dijk CJ, Dueck TA (2002) Plant monitoring of air quality around waste incinerators. In Klumpp A, Fomin A, Klumpp G, Ansel W (eds) Bioindication and air quality in European cities—research, application, communication. Heimbach, Ostfildem, pp 67-75 Valavanidis A, Fiotakis K, Vlahogianni T, Bakeas EB, Triantafillaki S, Paraskevopoulou V, Dassenakis M (2006) Characterization of atmospheric particulates, particle-bound transition metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of urban air in the centre of Athens (Greece). Chemosphere 65 760-768... 

Among sensitive species of terrestrial invertebrates, earthworms show disrupted enzyme activities at whole body concentrations as low as 28.5 mg Cu/kg DW. Soil copper concentrations between 53.0 and 100.0 mg/kg DW kill soil nematodes and soil faunal communities and cause a reduction in cocoon production of earthworms. Diets that contain between 50.0 and 63.0 mg Cu/kg ration inhibit development and reproduction in gypsy moths and oribatid mites. The wood louse (Porcellio scaber), an isopod, is proposed as a bioindicator of copper contamination in terrestrial ecosystems because whole body concentrations seem to reflect copper loadings in the isopod s immediate environment. More research is recommended on isopods and other sentinel organisms. 

Jerusa Schneider (environmental sciences ph)doremediation phytoextration soil management, soil pollution, soil quality bioindicators, trace elements and nutrients from plants influence of sanitary wastewater disinfection in functional diversity of soil microbial communities and vegetable production). Sanitation and Environment Department, School of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Urban Design, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP... 

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