HA8 On-line Water Toxicity Monitoring
A105 & A106
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Thursday
() The Multispecies Freshwater Biomonitor in ecotoxicology and biomonitoring of water, soil and sediment.
Gerhardt, A1, 1 LimCo International, Ibbenbueren, Germany
ABSTRACT- Biological early warning systems for continuous monitoring of acute pollution incidents have been developed for fish, daphnids, mussels, algae and bacteria. The Multispecies Freshwater Biomonitor (MFB) is the first online biomonitor for all aquatic and terrestric animal species, recording the behaviour of organisms in different media such as water, soil and sediment. An overview over past and recent scientific research with the MFB will be presented and results from different toxicity tests with terrestric species (Oligochaeta, Isopoda), sediment species (Nematoda, Chironomidae, Corophium volutator), epibenthic species (Hydropsychidae, Gammaridae, Decapoda), planktonic Crustacea and pelagic fish will be discussed. Exposure to toxins result in a stepwise stress response pattern (Stepwise Stress Model) consisting of (1) changes in locomotive behaviour (e.g. escape) followed by (2) changes in time spent on ventilation and ventilation frequency in many test species. Potential ecological advantages of this behavioural strategy will be discussed. Long-term in situ monitoring of drinking water from the River Rhine and waste water from a municipal waste water treatment plant show that the MFB is a reliable biomonitor and Gammarus pulex is as sensitive as the standard test species Daphnia magna.
Key words: biological early warning system, biomonitor, water quality, multispecies freshwater biomonitor