Table Of ContentBIOMONITORING OF TRACE AQUATIC CONTAMINANTS
Environmental Management Series
Edited by Prof. J. Cairns, J r, University Center for Environmental and
Hazardous Materials Studies, Virgina Polytechnic Institute, USA
and
Prof. R.M. Harrison, Institute of Public and Environmental Health,
University of Birmingham, UK
This series has been established to meet the need for a set of in-depth
volumes dealing with environmental issues. The series provides a uniform
and quality coverage, building up to form a library of reference books
spanning major topics within this diverse field.
The level of presentation is advanced, aimed primarily at a research/
consultancy readership. Coverage includes all aspects of environmental
science and engineering, relevant to management and monitoring of the
natural and man-modified environment, as well as topics dealing with the
political, economic, legal and social considerations pertaining to environ
mental management.
Previously published titles in the Series include:
D.J.H. Phillips and P.S. Rainbow (1993) Biomonitoring of Trace Aquatic
Contaminants
C.N. Hewitt and W.T. Sturges (eds) (1993) Global Atmospheric Chemical
Change
M. Radojevic and R.M. Harrison (eds) (1992) Atmospheric Acidity:
Sources, Consequences and Abatement
C.N. Hewitt (ed.) (1992) Methods of Environmental Data Analysis
BIOMONITORING OF
TRACE AQUATIC CONTAMINANTS
DAVID J.H. PHILLIPS
Fenviron, 87 Chancery Lane
London WC3
and
PHILIP S. RAINBOW
School of Biological Sciences, Queen Mary and Westfield College,
Mile End Road. London E1 4NS, UK
CHAPMAN cSt HALL
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Published by Chapman & Hall, 2-6 Boundary Row, London SEl 8HN, UK
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First edition 1993
Reprinted 1994
© 1993 Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd
© 1994 Chapman & Hall
ISBN 0 412 53850 4
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or
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The publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regard to the
accuracy of the information contained in this book and cannot accept any legal
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A Catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Biomonitoring of trace aquatic contaminants / David J. H. Phillips,
Phillip S. Rainbow.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
1. Water quality bioassay. 2. Indicators (Biology) 3. Biological monitoring.
4. Water -Analysis. I. Rainbow, P. S. II. Title.
QH90.57.B5P46 1992
628.1'61-dc20 92-18802
CIP
With love and gratitude to Lee and Mary
Preface
Twenty years ago, researchers wishing to identify contaminated areas in
aquatic environments generally took water samples, and analysed them
badly (as we have since discovered) for a few "pollutants" which were of
topical note at the time (and which could be quantified by the methods
then available).
Today, the use of aquatic organisms as biomonitors in preference to
water analysis has become commonplace, and many national and interna
tional programmes exist around the world involving such studies. We
believe that this trend will continue, and have complete faith in the
methodology (when it is employed correctly). We hope that the following
text assists in some part in attaining this goal, such that the quality of our
most basic global resource - water - is adequately protected in the future.
DAVE PHILLIPS, PHIL RAINBOW
England, March 1992
vii
Acknowledgements
Our thanks for contributions to this book are due to several individuals
and groups, for varying reasons. Firstly, a co-authored book is always a
triumph, and we trust that the following text is an acceptable compromise
of the views of two individual authors, on a complex and developing topic.
Secondly, many of the ideas herein have crystallised over the last two
decades as the field has grown, and we are individually and collectively
grateful to a number of researchers for their insight and assistance.
Amongst these are Mike Depledge, Geoff Moore, Des Connell, Mike
Martin, Bruce Richardson, Steve White, Dayanthi Nugegoda, Victor
Wong, Sian Pullen, Laurie Chan and Jason Weeks. Several of these are
ex-students of P.S.R., and are already contributing markedly to the
development of the field as a whole through the open literature. Others are
friends and colleagues, and we trust that our efforts ring an occasional
chord from long nights in distant lands.
In terms of pragmatics, the following text, figures and tables have been
produced with the assistance of several individuals. Talent and time were
contributed to several of the figures by Joy McDermott, Lee Phillips,
Cheryl Evans, and Tony Miskiewicz and his staff. Judith Hutchinson was
instrumental in producing a decipherable text from P.S.R.'s handwritten
scrawl, providing an eye for detail and a calm environment whenever these
were lacking.
IX
Contents
Preface ..... . vii
Acknowledgements. ix
Chapter 1 Definitions and Scope
Chapter 2 The Green Revolution 10
Chapter 3 Aquatic Contaminants of Concern. 51
Chapter 4 The Early Use of Biomonitors . . . 65
Chapter 5 The Biomonitoring of Trace Metals and
Radionuclides . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Chapter 6 The Biomonitoring of Organochlorines and
Hydrocarbons . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 133
Chapter 7 Monitoring Trace Contaminants in
Freshwater Ecosystems . . . . . . 179
Xl
xii
CONTENTS
Chapter 8 The Development of De Novo
Biomonitoring Programmes for Trace
Contaminants . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Chapter 9 Monitoring the Effects of Contaminants 243
Chapter 70 The Present Status and the Future. 289
References 293
Author Index 347
Species Index 359
Subject Index 362
Chapter 1
Definitions and Scope
A. BIOMONITORING
It is an unfortunate fact that many of the terms employed in studies of
aquatic and terrestrial pollution are broad in nature, and have been
defined inadequately and used improperly or ambiguously in the literature
over some decades. As a result, there is a need to review the terms
employed in the title of the present work, to define its contents and scope.
Martin and Coughtrey (1982) have provided a particularly useful dis
cussion of the terms "biological indicators" and "biological monitors".
They proposed that the two terms are in fact distinct, although many
authors have employed them synonymously. Biological indicators (also
termed 'bio-indicators') are considered to be organisms which, by their
own presence or absence, indicate the existence or abundance of a par
ticular critical factor. Thus, all organisms exhibit a defined tolerance to an
environmental stimulus (whether the latter is natural or anthropogenic in
nature), and can exist in particular locations only within their zone of
tolerance (Fig. 1). Within this zone of tolerance, enhanced exposure to
contaminants or to natural stressors (e.g. increasing or decreasing salini
ties or temperatures) may be met through compensation mechanisms,
although signs of toxicity are likely to occur as the upper limit of the zone
Description:Twenty years ago, researchers wishing to identify contaminated areas in aquatic environments generally took water samples, and analysed them badly (as we have since discovered) for a few "pollutants" which were of topical note at the time (and which could be quantified by the methods then available)
