Encyclopedia of Aquatic Ecotoxicology

1269 Pages·2013·15.12 MB·English

by  Vincent Felten

Jean-François Férard
Christian Blaise
Editors
Encyclopedia of
Aquatic
Ecotoxicology
1 3
Reference
Encyclopedia of Aquatic Ecotoxicology

Jean-Franc¸ois Fe´rard (cid:129) Christian Blaise
Editors
Encyclopedia of
Aquatic Ecotoxicology
With136Figuresand67Tables
Editors
Jean-Franc¸oisFe´rard
LaboratoireInterdisciplinairedesEnvironnementsContinentaux(LIEC)
Universite´deLorraine
Metz,France
ChristianBlaise
AquaticEcosystemProtectionResearchDivision
WaterScienceandTechnologyDirectorate,EnvironmentCanada
Montre´al,QC,Canada
ISBN978-94-007-5040-1 ISBN978-94-007-5704-2(eBook)
ISBNBundle978-94-007-5041-8(printandelectronicbundle)
DOI10.1007/978-94-007-5704-2
SpringerDordrechtHeidelbergNewYorkLondon
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2013937174
#SpringerScience+BusinessMediaDordrecht2013
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We dedicate this book to all those who
through their actions have, are and will
in future contribute to the protection
and conservation of aquatic ecosystems
on our planet.
The Editors

Foreword
PhilipS.Rainbow DepartmentofZoology,NaturalHistoryMuseum,London,UK
Manhasbeencontaminatingtheaquaticenvironmentforeons.Fromearlyhistory
metalshavebeenminedtoserveman’spurpose.TheverynamesBronzeAgeand
IronAgehighlighttheimportancetoourancestorsoftheabilitytosmeltmetal-rich
orestoreleasetheirmetalsforartefactproduction,firstlyusingthealloyofcopper
andtinthatmakesbronze,andthenthelessbrittlemetaliron.Metalsaretoxicwhen
presentaboveathresholdavailabilityintheenvironment.Thecontaminationofour
aquaticsystemsstartedearly.
Aspopulationsgrewandurbanizationfollowed,sodidthereleaseoflargeloads
oforganicwasteintowaterways.Animalhusbandryaddedanotherorganicburden,
promotingthepotentialconsequencesoftheeutrophicationandsubsequentdeoxy-
genationoflocalaquaticsystems.Thehistoricallymorerecentuseofcoal,oil,and
theirderivativesinourlivesproducednewsortsofcontaminantsinnowsignificant
amounts. Associated industries emitted a bewildering variety of products that we
couldnotlivewithout,notleasttheoutputsoftheplasticsandcosmeticsindustries,
andthesematerialsandtheirby-productsduringmanufactureenteredourstreams,
vii
viii Foreword
rivers and coastal waters. New words like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and
dioxins entered our vocabularies. Fertilizers and phosphate-rich detergents added
furthertoproblemsofeutrophicationinourwaters.
ThankfullywehavecomealongwaysincethepublicationofRachelCarson’s
crySilentSpringin1962inaddressingtheworstexamplesofthepollutionofour
planet,atleastinthedevelopedworld,althoughaquaticcontaminationproblemsare
reappearing where new economies are developing rapidly. We have otherwise
moved into a new phase as we need to investigate, understand, and mitigate the
now usually more subtle effects of contaminants affecting the biodiversity of our
water systems, decreasing their ability to deliver the ecosystem services so well
recognized in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, not least the provision of
clean drinking water. And we continue to add new contaminants. Pharmaceutical
productsaimedatourselvesandourlivestockareaffectingaquaticlife,forexample,
thechanging ofthesexoffishandinvertebrates bysynthesizedhormonesflushed
intoourrivers.Paradoxicallysomeoftheproductsofotherunrelatedindustriesare
hormone mimics causing similarphysiologicaleffectsdisruptingthe reproduction
and population biology ofaquatic organisms, organisms keytothe functioning of
aquatic ecosystems. We know little of the potential toxic effects of many new
manmade products, significant enough to deserve their own classification as
newlyEmergingContaminants.Nanoparticlesarefloodingontothemarket,many
ofthembearingtoxicmetals,indeedinmanycasesrelyingonthetoxicpropertiesof
these constituent metals to serve their purpose. I look no further than the silver
nanoparticlesandtheirbactericidalpropertiesintheverysocksthatIamwearingas
I write. We need to understand the deleterious effects of these particles when
released into the aquatic environment. Their small size means that they behave
neitherassolutesnorphysicalparticlesalreadyfamiliartous,andweneedtolearn
fromourmistakesofthepastaswenowinvestigatetheirtoxicpropertiesandeffects
intherealworld.
So what are we doing? We are indeed studying the mechanisms and effects
of toxic contaminants in aquatic habitats across the world, providing a scientific
basis to our understanding of their effects in the field, supplying our regulators
andlegislatorswiththesoundscientificallyvalidinformationneededtomitigate
significantenvironmental degradation. We are practising in the world of aquatic
ecotoxicology. Ecotoxicology integrates the ecological and toxicological effects
of chemical pollutants on populations, communities, and ecosystems with the
fate (transport, transformation, and breakdown) of such pollutants in the envi-
ronment. Aquatic ecotoxicology in particular has come of age over the last two
decades.
Asanintegrativescience,aquaticecotoxicologyinevitablyandrightlycallson
a wide range of interdisciplinary concepts and techniques, involving expertise
difficulttofindinanindividualscientist,norindeedasyetveryofteninthetraining
offuturepractitionersinthefield.Sothetimeisrightforacompendiumofourstate
Foreword ix
of knowledge across these diverse fields to be available to the aquatic
ecotoxicologists of today and tomorrow, and to those regulators and others who
needtocallonandunderstandtheoutputoftheseforward-lookingscientists.Lookno
further than the Encyclopedia of Aquatic Ecotoxicology. The editors Jean-Franc¸ois
Fe´rardandChristianBlaisehavecalledonawealthofexperiencetoassembleavery
impressiveinternationalarrayofauthorstoprovideacomprehensiveandintegrated
basisofthescienceofaquaticecotoxicology.
A total of 104 entries represents a panoply of knowledge impressive by any
criteria:fromtheoldtothenew–fromthehistoryofecotoxicologytotheemerging
contaminantsoftoday;chemistry–fromthechemicalspeciationofcontaminantsin
ourdifferentwatersandassociatedsedimentstothecomplexitiesofthetechniques
neededfortheiranalysisinthelaboratory,theinteractionofchemistryandbiology,
suchasthephysicochemistrythataffectscontaminantuptakeintoanorganism,that
vital first step thatunderlies allsubsequent toxicity; mechanisms andmodelling –
the Biotic Ligand Model for metals and Quantitative Structure Activity Relation-
ships for organic molecules, offering us hope to understand any general rules of
contaminantuptakethatwillallowustomoveourscienceforwardfromdescription
to prediction; biomonitors and biomarkers – the former are organisms in which
bioaccumulatedconcentrationsofcontaminantsprovideanintegratedrecordofthe
exposureoftheorganismtothebioavailableformsofthecontaminantsthatcanbe
taken up,and are therefore ofpotential ecotoxicity,particularly where and when?
Biomarkers,ontheotherhand,addressthe“sowhat”question:theyarebiological
responsesthatmightbemeasuredatdifferentlevelsofbiologicalorganization,for
example, a biochemical, cellular, physiological change in tissue or body fluids
within an organism or a behavioural change at the level of the whole organism.
Biomarkers therefore ask whether the contaminant exposure has been enough to
elicitabiologicalresponse.Toreallyask“Sowhat?”beforeitistooobviousandtoo
late,westrivetolinkbiomarkersatdifferentlevelsofbiologicalorganizationfrom
afirstmeasurableresponseatthebiochemicallevelthathasnosignificantcost,to
a response at individual organism, population, or community level (loss of
aspecies?)fromwhichthereisnocomeback.
As befits any understanding of ecotoxicology, the organisms are here – from
blue-green bacteria to belugas, from protistans to plants to polychaetes, fish and
frogs,hydrasandhumans.Biologicalapproachesatalllevels–molecularbiology
and the “omics,” histopathology and immunotoxicity, cellular toxicity and terato-
genesis, endocrinology and pharmacology, population biology and community
analysis.
Allverywell,butweneed toapplythisbodyofinformation,andtheEncyclo-
pedia of Aquatic Ecotoxicology delivers again. How do we design and apply
ecologicalriskassessmentsinaquatichabitats?Whatarewaterandsedimentquality
guidelines? How should we statistically analyze ecotoxicity data? What are the
relevant science policies and regulatory and legislative procedures (REACH?) in
differentcountriesoftheworld?