10/27/2015

Ecological Health Concerns

Environmental Effects
and
Ecotoxicology

What is Ecology?
“scientific study of factors influencing the
distribution and abundance of organisms”

“the scientific analysis and study of

interactions among organisms and their
environment”

What is Ecology?
Biotic Factors
• Effects on individuals
– Genetic mutations, growth, reproduction,
behavior
– Population dynamics and demographic
changes
• Effects on Communities (living part of the
ecosystem)
– Competition
– Predator-prey interactions
– Species diversity

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What is Ecology?
Abiotic Factors
• Light, temperature, moisture
• Nutrient availability
• Available niches
• Water quality, soil quality

What is an Ecosystem?
“A community of living organisms (plants,
animals and microbes) in conjunction with
the nonliving components of their
environment (things like air, water and
mineral soil), interacting as a system.”

Ecotoxicology
Definitions:
• Science describing the toxic effects of
various agents on living organisms and
especially on populations and
communities within ecosystems
• Non-chemical stressors also

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Ecotoxicology
Non-chemical stressors
include
• Physical stressors like
radiation, silts
• Habitat Alteration
• Temperature

Ecotoxicology
• Multi Disciplinary Approach Required
• An Applied Science

Ecotoxicology
Ecotoxicologists study
• source of
contaminants
• distribution of
contaminants in the
environment
• degradation and
transformation
processes

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Ecotoxicology
Ecotoxicologists study
• concentration of
contaminants
• availability and uptake of
contaminants using a
variety of monitoring
methods
• effects of contaminants
on
– Individuals
– populations and
communities
Ultimately predict
effects on ecosystems

Toxicity Testing - A Important Tool

Used to determine effects from known
exposures
• applied prospectively or retrospectively
• aquatic toxicity testing most common but
terrestrial and semi-aquatic tests also
performed

Types of Tests
Acute effects
• death is the
typical endpoint
studied
• LC50 values
generated

Methods To Assess Effects On Individuals - Single Species Testing

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Types of Tests

Chronic effects
• Short-term partial life-cycle
– Reproductive impairment
– growth impairment
• Long-term chronic tests
– Complete life cycle
including testing of progeny

Methods To Assess Effects On Individuals - Single Species Testing

Types of Tests

Chronic effects
– NOEC, LOEC (NOEL, LOEL) generated
– Maximum allowable toxicant concentration
(MATC)

Methods To Assess Effects On Individuals - Single Species Testing

Types of Tests
• Static vs. Flow-though
– Proportional diluter
apparatus
– Attempts at realism

Methods To Assess Effects On Individuals - Single Species Testing

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Methods To Assess Effect On

Communities
• Both laboratory and field testing
• Typically multispecies
• Variety of tests available
• Typically more complicated and more
expensive than single species tests
• Continued attempts at “Realism”

Testing Systems
Cascading systems
– A flow through system using gravity
– Toxicant solution introduced continuously to
uppermost level
– Food above for next level below
– Effect on population of each assessed for no
effect level

Methods To Assess Effects On

Communities

Testing Systems

Artificial streams
– Simple to complex systems which include several
species and substrate
– Current maintained to simulate river conditions
– Static or flow-through

Methods To Assess Effects On Communities

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Testing Systems
Microcosms
• Simulate the processes in
a sector of an ecosystem
• Three tropic levels as an
example
– A cascading system is an
example of a flow-through
microcosm

Methods To Assess Effects On Communities

Testing Systems
Microcosms
– Static microcosms can be as simple as a bowl
containing introduced organic matter and a
protozoan community
•Changes in protozoan community
assessed as a measure of effect

•Protozoan community a surrogate

for more complex communities or
as essential component of a
community that relies upon
protozoans

•Typically indoors under controlled

conditions
Methods To Assess Effects On Communities

Testing Systems
Mesocosms
• Larger and more
complex than
microcosms
– An artificial pond
or artificial stream
as examples
– Typically outdoors
– Increased realism

Methods To Assess Effects On

Communities

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Testing Systems
Mesocosms
• Allowed to “seed” with
organisms; community
established
• Toxicants applied to
several “like” ponds
• Changes in community
assessed as function
of concentration

Methods To Assess Effect On Communities

Toxicity Testing
Need for Analytical
• concentration is dependent on solubility,
volatility, degradation
• Testing not valuable if concentration not
well known

Toxicity Testing
Statistical Analysis
• Essential component of interpretation of
effects data
• Statistical significance very important but
not always possible

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Assessing Community Health:

Biomonitoring
Definitions
• Using individuals in the environment or ecological
parameters like population size or species
diversity to measure ecotoxicological effects
• Biomonitoring directly assays environmental
effects

Ecosystems have resiliency and can bounce back

from perturbation or damage, if it is caught in time
and the source of stress lessened

Biomonitoring Methods
• Assessment of species diversity – Fish
Community
– Electrofishing and other methods for locating
and identifying all fish living in an area
• fish collected, measured,
weighed, inspected, and
identified
• statistical methods applied:
example Index of Biological
Integrity (IBI) or other
diversity index

Electrofishing in a Shallow Creek

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Biomonitoring Methods
• Assessment of species diversity -
Macroinvertebrates
– Artificial substrates and other methods for locating
and identifying all Macroinvertebrates in an area
• substrates placed: examples are Hester-Dendy multiplate
sampler, pebble filled baskets
• colonization allowed
• substrates removed and preserved
– all macroinvertebrates counted and identified
– statistics applied: example Invertebrate Community
Index (ICI)

Hester-Dendy Artificial Substrate

Basket Sampler

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Macroinvertebrate Sampling

Biomonitoring
Biomonitoring Methods
• Comparison of “influenced” communities
to uninfluenced: how do various measures
of community health compare?
• Risk assessment methods called upon to
evaluate options for improvement of
impaired communities
• Ecosystem restoration

Biomonitoring Results

Closely Tied to Habitat

– Methods for evaluation of habitat have been
established
– QHEI

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Biomonitoring
Water quality parameters accompany all
biomonitoring events
– Dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity/salinity,
ammonia, chlorine, temperature, turbidity,
available nitrogen, phosphorus, others

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