Abstract
Biofilms can be regarded as early warning systems for detection of the effects of toxicants on aquatic systems, because they have been successfully used for detection of other environmental stressors (e.g. pH, salinity, organic pollution). A variety of methods is used for detection of the effects of toxicants by use of biofilms. The methods range from structurally-based to functionally-based, and from in vitro-based to systemic approaches. Physiological approaches may be appropriate for detection of acute effects. Among these methods, photosynthesis is more related to the effect of toxicants affecting algal communities, directly or indirectly, and extracellular enzyme activity is less specific. Selecting one or the other may depend on the suspected direct effect of the toxicant. Integrated studies have revealed the relevance of toxicants to top-down or bottom-up regulation of the biofilm community. Persistent or chronic effects should affect other biofilm indicators, for example growth or biomass-related factors (e.g. chlorophyll), or community composition. Among these, community composition might better reflect the effects of the toxicant(s), because this may cause a shift from a sensitive to a progressively tolerant community. Community composition-based approaches do not usually adequately reflect cause–effect relationships and require complementary analysis of properties affected in the short-term, for example physiological properties. The current array of methods available must be wisely combined to disentangle the effects of chemicals on biofilms, and whether these effects are transient or persistent, to successfully translate the chemical action of toxicants into the effect they might have on the river ecosystem.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ivorra N, Hettelaar J, Kraak MHS, Sabater S, Admiraal W (2002) Environ Toxicol Chem 21:626–632
Navarro E, Guasch H, Sabater S (2002) J Appl Phycol 14:41–48
Lock MA (1993) In: Ford TE (ed) Aquatic microbiology: an ecological approach. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 113–138
Allan JD (1995) Stream ecology. Structure and function of running waters. Chapman and Hall, London, pp 388
Flemming HC (1995) Water Sci Technol 32:27–33
Kaplan D, Christiaen D, Shoshana A (1987) Appl Environ Microbiol 53:2953–2956
Stevenson RJ (1996) In: Stevenson RJ, Bothwell ML, Lowe RL (eds) Algal ecology, freshwater benthic ecosystems. Academic Press
Navarro E, Guasch H, Sabater S (2001) J Appl Phycol 1–9
Pérès F, Florin D, Groiller T, Feurtet-Mazel A, Coste M, Ribeyre F, Ricard M, Boudou A (1996) Environ Pollut 94:141–152
Rowan KS (1989) Photosynthetic pigments of algae. Cambridge University Press, pp 334
Descy JP, Metens A (1996) J Plankt Res 18:1557–1566
Pinckney J, Paerl HW, Fitzpatrick M (1995) Mar Ecol Prog Ser 123:207–216
Schreiber U, Gademann R, Bird P, Ralph PJ, Larkum AWD, Kuhl M (2002) J Phycol 38:125–134
van der Grinten E, Janssen M, Simis SGH, Barranguet C, Admiraal W (2004) Freshwater Biol 49:369–381
Dorigo U, Leboulanger C (2001) J Appl Phycol 13:509–515
Dorigo U, Bourrain X, Berard A, Leboulanger C (2004) Sci Tot Environ 318:101–114
Ivorra N, Bremer S, Guasch H, Kraak MHS, Admiraal W (2000) Environ Toxicol Chem 19:1332–1339
Admiraal W, Blanck H, Buckert De Jong M, Guasch H, Ivorra N, Lehmann V, Nystrom BAH, Paulsson M, Sabater S (1999) Water Res 33:1989–1996
Guasch H, Admiraal W, Sabater S (2003) Aquat Toxicol 64:165–175
Sabater S, Admiraal W (2005) Azim ME, Verdegem MCJ, Van Dam AA, Beveridge MCM (eds). Periphyton: ecology, exploitation and management. Cabi Publishing, pp 159–177
Samrakandi MM, Roques C, Michel G (1997) Can J Microbiol 3:751–758
Guasch H, Ivorra N, Lehmann V, Paulsson M, Real M, Sabater S (1998) J Appl Ecol 10:203–213
Descy JP, Coste M (1991) Verh Int Verein Limnol 24:2112–2116
Kelly MG, Whitton BA (1995) J Appl Phycol 7:433–444
Sabater S (2000) J Appl Phycol 12:113–124
Lürling M, Beekman W (2002) Environ Toxicol Chem 21:1213–1218
Schmitt-Jansen M, Altenburger R (2005) Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 2:539–545
Guasch H, Paulsson M, Sabater S (2002) J Phycol 38:241–248
Blanck H, Wängberg S-A, Molander S (1988) 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
Pérès F, Coste M, Ribeyre F, Ricard M, Boudou A (1997) J Appl Phycol 9:215–227
Blanck H, Wangberg S (1991) Aquat Toxicol 21:1–14
Nyström B, Paulsson M, Almgren K, Blank H (2000) Environ Toxicol Chem 19:1324–1331
Schmitt-Jansen M, Altenburger R (2005) Environ Toxicol Chem 24:304–312
Barranguet C, Van Den Ende FP, Rutgers M, Breure AM, Greijdanus M, Sinke JJ, Admiraal W (2003) Environ Toxicol Chem 22:1340–1349
Peterson HG, Boutin C, Martin PA, Freemark KE, Ruecker NJ, Moody MJ (1994) Aquat Toxicol 28:275–292
Backhaus T, Arrhenius A, Blanck H (2004) Environ Sci Technol 39:6363–6370
Skrodenyte V (1998) Int Rev Hydrobiol 83:495–498
Vinter V, Smid F, Smrckova I (1987) Folia Microbiol 32:80–95
Cohen I, Bitan R, Nitzan Y (1991) Microbios 68:157–168
Chapell KR, Goulder R (1994) Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 52:305–310
Paulsson M, Mansson V, Blanck H (2002) Aquat Toxicol 56:103–113
Kloeke FV, Geesey GG (1999) Microb Ecol 38:201–214
Dorn PB, Rodgers JH Jr, Gillespie WB Jr, Lizotte RE Jr, Dunn AW (1997) Environ Toxicol Chem 16:1634–1645
Boeije GM, Schowanek DR, Vanrolleghem PA (2000) Water Res 34:1479–1486
Takada H, Mutoh K, Tomita N, Miyadzu T, Ogura N (1994) Water Res 28:1953–1960
Lee DM, Guckert JB, Ventullo RM, Davidson DH, Belanger SE (1997) Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 36:288–296
Muñoz I, Real M, Guasch H, Navarro E, Sabater S (2001) Aquat Toxicol 55:239–249
Sabater S, Navarro E, Guasch H (2002) J Appl Phycol 14:391–398
Lewis MA (1992) Aquat Toxicol 23:279–288
Kreutzweiser DP, Capell SS, Sousa BC (1995) Environ Toxicol Chem 14:1521–1527
Paulsson M, Nystrom B, Blanck H (2000) Aquat Toxicol 47:243–257
Gold C, Feurtet-Mazel A, Coste M, Boudou A (2003) Freshwater Biol 48:316–328
Perrin CJ, Wilkes B, Richardson JS (1992) Environ Toxicol Chem 11:1513–1525
Soldo D, Behra R (2000) Aquat Toxicol 47:181–189
Genter RB, Cherri DS, Smith EP, Cairns J Jr (1987) Hydrobiologia 153:261–275
Schneider J, Morin A, Pick FR (1995) Environ Toxicol Chem 14:1607–1613
Belanger SE, Lee DM, Bowling JW, LeBlanc EM (2004) Environ Toxicol Chem 23:2202–2213
Hill AR, Warwick J (1987) Can J Fish Aquat Sci 44:1948–1956
Forster PL (1982) Freshwater Biol 12:41–61
Lindstrom E, Rorslett B (1991) Verh Int Verein Limnol 24:2215–2219
Crossey MJ, La Point TW (1988) Hydrobiologia 162:109–121
Hirst H, Juttner I, Ormerod SJ (2002) Freshwater Biol 47:1752–1765
Griffith MB, Hill BH, Herlihy AT, Kaufman PR (2002) J Phycol 38:83–95
Blanck H, Admiraal W, Cleven RFMJ, Guasch H, van den Hoop MAGT, Ivorra N, Nyström B, Paulsson M, Petterson RP et al (2003) Environ Contam Toxicol 44:17–29
Lehmann V, Tubbing GMJ, Admiraal W (1999) Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 36:384–391
Altenburger R, Boedecker W, Faust M, Grimme LH (1990) Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 20:98–114
Faust M, Altenburger R, Backhaus T, Boedecker W, Scholz M, Grimme LH (2000) J Environ Qual 29:1063–1068
Yallop ML, Paterson DM, Wellsbury P (2000) Microbial Ecol 39:116–127
Barranguet C, van Beusekom SAM, Veuger B, Neu TR, Manders EMM, Sinke JJ, Admiraal W (2004) Aquat Microb Ecol 34:1–9
Costerton JW, Geesey GG, Cheng KJ (1978) Scientific American 238:86–95
Battin TJ, Kaplan LA, Newbold JD, Cheng XH, Hansen C (2003) Appl Environ Microbiol 69:5443–5452
Freeman C, Lock MA (1995) Limnol Oceanogr 40:273–278
Bhaskar P, Bhosle NB (2006) Environ Int 32:191–198
Wang W, Wang W, Zhang X, Wang D (2002) Water Res 36:551–560
Sheng GP, Yu HQ, Yue ZB (2005) Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 69:216–222
Aloi JE (1990) Can J Fish Aquat Sci 47:656–670
Blanck H, Dahl B (1996) Aquat Toxicol 35:59–77
Morin S, Vivas-Nogues M, Duong TT, Boudou A, Coste M, Delmas F (2006) Arch Hydrobiol, in press
Geoffroy L, Frankart C, Eullaffroy P (2004) Environ Pollut 131:233–241
Okamoto OK, Colepicolo P (1998) Comp Biochem Physiol 119:67–73
Tripathi BN, Mehta SK, Amar A, Gaue JP (2006) Chemosphere 63:538–544
Geoffroy L, Teisseire H, Couderchet M, Vernet V (2002) Pest Biochem Physiol 72:178–183
Lawrence JR, Swerhone GDW, Wassenaar LI, Neu TR (2005) Can J Microbiol 51:655–669
Acknowledgements
This paper was funded by the Commission of the European Community (Modelkey, Contract-No. 511237 (GOCE)).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sabater, S., Guasch, H., Ricart, M. et al. Monitoring the effect of chemicals on biological communities. The biofilm as an interface. Anal Bioanal Chem 387, 1425–1434 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-006-1051-8
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-006-1051-8