Skip to main content

Microbial Ecotoxicology: Looking to the Future

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Microbial Ecotoxicology

Abstract

Chemicals pose a certain risk to microbial communities, but effects may be accumulative or synergistic with other stressors also affecting microbes in freshwater ecosystems. Precisely, a main challenge faced by microbial ecotoxicologists is to discern the effects of chemicals from those caused by co-occurring stressors on microbial communities, and this requires the ability to use and integrate new and not so new techniques to accurately describe their responses and scaling them up to the ecosystem.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Admiraal W, Blanck H, Buckert-de Jong M, Guasch H, Ivorra N, Lehmann V, Nyström BAH, Paulsson M, Sabater S (1999) Short-term toxicity of zinc to microbenthic algae and bacteria in a metal polluted stream. Water Res 33(9):1989–1996

    Google Scholar 

  • Allan JD (2004) Landscapes and riverscapes: the influence of land use on stream ecosystems. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 35:257–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allan JD, Mcintyre PB., Smith SDP, Halpern BS, Boyer GL, Buchsbaum A, Burton JGA, Campbell LM, Chadderton WL, Ciborowski JJH, Doran PJ, Ederk T, Infante DM, Johnson LB, Joseph CA, Marino AL, Prusevich A, Read JG, Rose JB, Rutherford ES, Sowa SP, Steinman AD (2013) Joint analysis of stressors and ecosystem services to enhance restoration effectiveness. Proc Nat Acad Sci 110:372–377

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson LC, Bruland KW (1991) Biogeochemistry of arsenic in natural waters: the importance of methylated species. Environ Sci Technol 25:420–427

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barceló D, Sabater S (2010) Water quality and assessment under scarcity. Prospects and challenges in Mediterranean watersheds. J Hydrol 383:1–4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bärlocher F, Murdoch JH (1989) Hyporheic biofilms—a potential food source for interstitial animals. Hydrobiologia 184:61–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barthès A, Ten-Hage L, Lamy A, Rols JL, Leflaive J (2015) Resilience of aggregated microbial communities subjected to drought–small-scale studies. Microb Ecol 70:9–20

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bier RL, Bernhardt ES, Boot CM, Graham EB, Hall EK, Lennon JT and Wallenstein MD (2015) Linking microbial community structure and microbial processes: an empirical and conceptual overview. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 91(10):fiv113

    Google Scholar 

  • Bird DF, Duarte CM (1984) Empirical relationship between bacterial abundance and chlorophyll concentration in fresh and marine waters. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 41:1015–1023

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanck H, Wängberg S-A (1988) Induced community tolerance in marine periphyton established under arsenate stress. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 45:1816–1819

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanck H, Wängberg S-A, Molander S (1988) Pollution-induced community tolerance—a new ecotoxicological tool. In: Cairns J Jr, Pratt JR (eds) Functional testing of aquatic biota for estimating hazards of chemicals. ASTM STP 988 American Society for testing materials, Philadelphia, pp 219–230

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonnineau C, Guasch H, Proia L, Ricart M, Geiszinger A, Romaní AM, Sabater S (2010) Fluvial biofilms: a pertinent tool to assess b-blockers toxicity. Aquat Toxicol 96:225–233

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burkart MR, Kolpin DW (1993) Hydrologic and land-use factors associated with herbicides and nitrate in near-surface aquifers. J Environ Qual 22:646–656

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burton GA, De Zwart D, Diamond J, Dyer SD, Kapo KE, Liess M, Posthuma L (2012) Making ecosystem reality checks the status quo. Environ Sci Technol 31:459–468

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Coors A, De Meester L (2008) Synergistic, antagonistic and additive effects of multiple stressors: predation threat, parasitism and pesticide exposure in Daphnia magna. J Appl Ecol 45:1820–1828

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Copin P-J, Perronet L, Chèvre N (2016) Modelling the effect of exposing algae to pulses of S-metolachlor: how to include a delay to the onset of the effect and in the recovery. Sci Total Environ 541:257–267

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Corcoll N, Casellas M, Huerta B, Guasch H, Acuña V, Rodriguez-Mozaz S, Serra-Compte A, Barceló D, Sabater S (2015) Effects of flow intermittency and pharmaceutical exposure on the structure and metabolism of stream biofilms. Sci Total Environ 503–504:159–170

    Google Scholar 

  • Dantas G, Sommer MO, Oluwasegun RD, Church GM (2008) Bacteria subsisting on antibiotics. Science 320:100–103

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Debenest T, Silvestre J, Coste M, Pinelli E (2010) Effects of pesticides on freshwater diatoms. In: Reviews of environmental contamination and toxicology. Springer, pp 87–103

    Google Scholar 

  • Federle TW, Dobbins DC, Thornton-Manning JR, Jones DD (1986) Microbial biomass, activity, and community structure in subsurface soils. Ground Water 24:365–374

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Flemming HC, Wingender J (2010) The biofilm matrix. Nat Rev Microbiol 8:623–633

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman C, Lock MA (1995) The biofilm polysaccharide matrix: a buffer against changing organic substrate supply? Limnol Oceanogr 40:273–278

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ghiglione J-F, Martin-Laurent F, Pesce S (2016) Microbial ecotoxicology: an emerging discipline facing contemporary environmental threats. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23:3981–3983

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodnight CJ (1956) The use of aquatic invertebrates as indicators of stream pollution. Trans Am Microscopical Soc 92:1–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graba M, Sauvage S, Moulin FY, Urrea G, Sabater S, Sanchez-Perez JM (2013) Interaction between local hydrodynamics and algal community in epilithic biofilm. Water Res 47:2153–2163

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guasch H, Paulsson M, Sabater S (2002) Effect of copper on algal communities from oligotrophic calcareous streams. J Phycol 38:241–248

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall LW, Anderson RD, Kilian J, Tierney DP (1999) Concurrent exposure assessments of atrazine and metolachlor in the mainstem, major tributaries and small streams of the Chesapeake Bay watershed: indicators of ecological risk. Environ Monit Assess 59:155–190

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hardenbicker P, Weitere M, Ritz S, Schöll F, Fischer H (2015) Longitudinal plankton dynamics in the Rivers Rhine and Elbe. River Res Appl. doi:10.1002/rra.2977

  • Hatt BE, Fletcher TD, Walsh CJ, Taylor SL (2004) The influence of urban density and drainage infrastructure on the concentration and loads of pollutants in small streams. Environ Manage 34:112–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hector A, Bagchi R (2007) Biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality. Nature 448:188–190

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hooper DU, Chapin IFS, Ewel JJ, Hector A, Inchausti P, Lavorel S, Lawton JH, Lodge DM, Loreau M, Naeem S, Schmid B, Setälä H, Symstad AJ, Vandermeer J, Wardle DA (2005) Effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning: a consensus of current knowledge. Ecol Monogr 75:3–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson RK, Hering D (2009) Response of taxonomic groups in streams to gradients in resource and habitat characteristics. J Appl Ecol 46:175–186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kutka FJ, Richards C (1996) Relating diatom assemblage structure to stream habitat quality. J North Am Benthological Soc 15:469–480

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Legendre P, Legendre L (1998) Numerical Ecology. Elsevier BV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu B, Liu W, Nie X, Guan Ch, Yang Y, Wang Z, Liao W (2011) Growth response and toxic effects of three antibiotics on Selenastrum capricornutum evaluated by photosynthetic rate and chlorophyll biosynthesis. J Environ Sci 23:1558–1563

    Google Scholar 

  • Lupini G, Proia L, Di Maio M, Amalfitano S, Fazi S (2011) CARD-FISH and CLSM to assess successional changes of the bacterial community in freshwater biofilms. J Microbiol Methods 86:248–251

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Malaj E, Von Der Ohe PC, Groted M, Kühne R, Mondy CP, Usseglio-Polatera P, Brack W, Schäferb RB (2014) Organic chemicals jeopardize the health of freshwater ecosystems on the continental scale. Proc Nat Acad Sci 111:9549–9554

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Margalef R (1960) Ideas for a synthetic approach to the ecology of running waters. Int Rev gesamten Hydrobiol 45:133–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martínez JL (2008) Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in natural environments. Science 321:365–367

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morin S, Proia L, Ricart M, Bonnineau C, Geiszinger A, Ricciardi F, Guasch H, Romani A, Sabater S (2010) Effects of a bactericide on the structure and survival of benthic diatom communities. Vie et milieu 60:109–116

    Google Scholar 

  • Pesce S, Morin S, Lissalde S, Montuelle B, Mazzella N (2011) Combining polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) with toxicity testing to evaluate pesticide mixture effects on natural phototrophic biofilms. Environ Pollut 159:735–741

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peter H, Ylla I, Gudasz C, Romaní AM, Sabater S, Tranvik LJ (2011) Multifunctionality in microbial biofilms is constrained by diversity. PLoS ONE 6(8):e23225

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Petrovic M, Ginebreda A, Acuña V, Batalla RJ, Elosegi A, Guasch H, De Alda ML, Marce R, Muñoz I, Navarro-Ortega A, Navarro E, Vericat D, Sabater S, Barceló D (2011) Combined scenarios of chemical and ecological quality under water scarcity in Mediterranean rivers. TrAC Trends Anal Chem 30:1269–1278

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ponsatí L, Corcoll N, Petrovic M, Picó Y, Ginebreda A, Tornés E, Guasch H, Barceló D, Sabater S (2016) Multiple-stressor effects on river biofilms under different hydrological conditions. Freshw Biol. doi:10.1111/fwb.12764

    Google Scholar 

  • Posthuma L, Bjørn A, Zijp MC, Birkved M, Diamond ML, Hauschild MZ, Huijbregts MAJ, Mulder C, Van De Meent D (2014) Beyond safe operating space: finding chemical footprinting feasible. Environ Sci Technol 48:6057–6059

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Posthuma L, Eijsackers H, Koelmans JPA, Vijver MG (2008) Ecological effects of diffuse mixed pollution are site-specific and require higher-tier risk assessment to improve site management decisions: a discussion paper. Sci Total Environ 406:503–517

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Proia L, Osorio V, Soley S, Köck-Schulmeyer M, Pérez S, Barceló D, Romaní A, Sabater S (2013) Effects of pesticides and pharmaceuticals on biofilms in a highly impacted river. Environ Pollut 178:220–228

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ricart M, Barceló D, Geiszinger A, Guasch H, Alda MLPD, Romaní AM, Vidal G, Villagrasa M, Sabater S (2009) Effects of low concentrations of the phenylurea herbicide diuron on biofilm algae and bacteria. Chemosphere 76:1392–1401

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Riedl J, Schreiber R, Otto M, Heilmeier H, Altenburger R, Schmitt-Jansen M (2015) Metabolic Effect level index links multivariate metabolic fingerprints to ecotoxicological effect assessment. Environ Sci Technol 49:8096–8104

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez Castro MC, Urrea G, Guasch H (2015) Influence of the interaction between phosphate and arsenate on periphytons growth and its nutrient uptake capacity. Sci Total Environ 503–504:122–132

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sabater S, Navarro E, Guasch H (2002) Effects of copper on algal communities at different current velocities. J Appl Phycol 14(5):391–398

    Google Scholar 

  • Sabater S, Guasch H, Ricart M, Vidal G, Klünder C, Schmitt-Jansen M (2007) Monitoring the effect of chemicals on biological communities. The biofilm as an interface. Anal Bioanal Chem 387:1425–1434

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sabater S, Barceló D, De Castro-Català N, Ginebreda A, Kuzmanovic M, Petrovic M, Picó Y, Ponsatí L, Tornés E, Muñoz I (2016) Shared effects of organic microcontaminants and environmental stressors on biofilms and invertebrates in impaired rivers. Environ Pollut 210:303–314

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Safaie A, Wendzel A, Ge Z, Nevers MB, Whitman RL, Corsi SR, Phanikumar MS (2016) Comparative evaluation of statistical and mechanistic models of Escherichia coli at beaches in Southern Lake Michigan. Environ Sci Technol 50:2442–2449

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scheffer M, Carpenter SR, Lenton TM, Bascompte J, Brock W, Dakos V, Van De Koppel J, Van De Leemput IA, Levin SA, Van Nes EH, Pascual M, Vandermeer J (2012) Anticipating Critical Transitions. Science 338:344–348

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schwarzenbach RP, Escher BI, Fenner K, Hofstetter TB, Johnson CA, Von Gunten U, Wehrli B (2006) Global hydrological cycles and world water resources. Science 313:1072–1077

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Segner H, Schmitt-Jansen M, Sabater S (2014) Assesing the impact of multiple stressors on aquatic biota: the receptor’s sice matters. Environ Sci Technol 48:7690–7696

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tlili A, Bérard A, Roulier J-L, Volat B, Montuelle B (2010) PO4 dependence of the tolerance of autotrophic and heterotrophic biofilm communities to copper and diuron. Aquat Toxicol 98:165–177

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tlili A, Marechal M, Montuelle B, Volat B, Dorigo U, Bérard A (2011) Use of the MicroResp method to assess pollution-induced community tolerance to metals for lotic biofilms. Environ Pollut 159:18–24

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tornés E, Sabater S (2010) Variable discharge alters habitat suitability for benthic algae and cyanobacteria in a forested Mediterranean stream. Mar Freshw Res 61:441–450

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sergi Sabater .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Sabater, S. (2017). Microbial Ecotoxicology: Looking to the Future. In: Cravo-Laureau, C., Cagnon, C., Lauga, B., Duran, R. (eds) Microbial Ecotoxicology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61795-4_14

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics