کد مقاله | کد نشریه | سال انتشار | مقاله انگلیسی | نسخه تمام متن |
---|---|---|---|---|
4421252 | 1308508 | 2011 | 9 صفحه PDF | دانلود رایگان |

With respect to the ecological relevance of endpoints, biomass as an endpoint might be promising regarding ecotoxicological assessments of benthic communities. In a freshwater microcosm study the effect of two cadmium (Cd) concentrations (50 and 400 mg Cd kg−1 dw) on biomass and abundance of a benthic community were investigated over a period of seven months. Specifically, the sensitivity of both endpoints in distinguishing differential effects was compared. While bacteria were found to be unaffected by Cd, abundance and biomass of protozoans and metazoans decreased. In a short-term comparison, differences between control and Cd treatments were, overall, more pronounced for flagellate biomass and for metazoan abundance with strong differences between the taxonomic groups; furthermore, over the long-term, the differences among organisms and endpoints changed. Based on toxicant sensitivity, the reasonably low variance of the data and the workload involved, biomass can provide a useful additional endpoint in microcosm studies.
► Biomass as an endpoint was tested in a freshwater microcosm study with cadmium.
► Results of several taxa were compared with data of abundance over seven months.
► Taxa differ in their sensitivity between both endpoints.
► Biomass provides a useful additional endpoint in microcosm studies.
Journal: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety - Volume 74, Issue 7, October 2011, Pages 1942–1950