Bioindicators discussion

Several candidate wildlife indicators are suggested and discussed in this chapter. In addition, we recognize that valuable sources of data on residue-effect relationships are available to assist in the selection of habitat-specific indicators (Jarvinen and Ankley 1999 USCOE and USEPA 2005). Although this chapter emphasizes animals, similar considerations and literature exist for plants and microorganisms as bioindicators and biomarkers (National Research Council 1989 USEPA 1997 Gawel et al. 2001 Citterio et al. 2002 Yuska et al. 2003). 

Table 5.1 summarizes the species listed above and ranks them as potential bioindicators of mercury contamination according to the characteristics discussed, from 1 (lowest) to 3 (highest), based on the assessments above and the best professional judgement of the authors of this chapter. 

This thesis focuses on the applicability of in vitro, in vivo bioassays and bioindicators as tools for evaluating the effects of complex chemical mixtures in the process of deciding whether dredged harbour sediments can be disposed of at sea without serious adverse effects on marine ecosystem and human health. It considers the North Sea delta area in order to determine a comprehensive approach for the application of both in vitro and in vivo bioassays for hazard assessment, advanced risk assessment, and location-specific ecological impact assessment for dredged harbour sediments. To aid in the selection of appropriate, robust and reliable in vitro and in vivo bioassay and bioindication methods for these specific purposes, the uneertainty, predictability and specificity of the bioassays have been explored and the applieability in eombination with other analyses is discussed. The focus of the chosen examples is on bioassays and bioindicators for the relatively well studied dioxin-like contaminants and TBT. 

Table 12.1 shows the bioindicators available at the German Federal Environmental Specimen Bank. The criteria for choice of the sample species are discussed in detail in Klein and Paulus (1995). The expected functional connections between ecosystems are shown in Figure 12.6. 

Transposition of results of feather analysis to internal tissues is one of fundamental topics with regard to an application of magpie feathers as bioindicators of heavy metal pollution. This appears to be very limited because of different origin of incorporated heavy metals a dominance of exogenous deposition in feathers and endogenous way with respect to the internal tissues. Fig. 8 compares merits and demerits of the analysis of discussed tissues - a scatter of results regarding individuals of different age from a single study area (arrows 1), a reflection of pollution variabilities between areas (arrows 2) and a transposition of feather data to internal tissues (arrow 3). 

L.) collected by beekeepers in apparently polluted and nonpolluted environments was performed by using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) to measure significant concentrations of Ag, Ca, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, P, S, Zn, Al, Cd, Hg, Ni, and Pb. Fortunately, Cd, Hg, Ni, and Pb were not detected in the analyzed samples. Conversely, Ag, Cu, Al, Zn, and S were found in some samples located near industrial areas. Because a high variability was found in the concentration profiles, correspondence factor analysis was used to rationalize the data and provide a typology of the honeys based on the concentration of these different elements in the honeys. The results were confirmed by means of principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis. Finally, the usefulness of the acacia honey as a bioindicator of heavy metal contamination is discussed. 

The combined effects of Pb on the above enzymatic steps within the heme biosynthetic pathway lead to accumulation of ALA-P, ALA-U, and in various organs and tissues of humans and experimental systems (Table 16.4). The latter are discussed in a later section. The dose—response relationships for ALA-U, the commonly tested bioindicator medium, take the form of a positive association between the log of ALA-U and PbB (Chisolm et al., as cited in NAS/NRC, 1972 Oishi et al., 1996 Sakai and Morita, 1996 Selander and Cramer, 1970). The threshold for this relationship is typically taken as 40 pg/dl, but Selander and Cramer (1970) showed two dose—response relationships for two worker subsets, one >40 pg/dl and the other at or below this value. 

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