Silvia Marchini | PubMed Health

PubMed2005

[Ecotoxicology and water quality].

Fundamental concepts of ecotoxicology are presented, making specific reference to the aquatic environment. As far as exposure to contaminants is concerned, the main properties of a substance that determine its presence in the various environmental compartments and matrices are illustrated and discussed. The crucial importance of the bioaccumulation potential is stressed, as it can be responsible for the level of substance reached in the biota, which can be much higher than that present in the external environment. It is also underlined the importance of bioavailability processes, which tune the chemical fraction available for absorption by organisms. The toxic effects on biota are illustrated at the different levels of biological organization they can be observed. Last, the role of the ecotoxicological investigation within an integrated approach to the water quality assessment is discussed along with the specific information provided.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Aquatic effects assessment: needs and tools.

In the assessment of the adverse effects pollutants can produce on exposed ecosystems, different approaches can be followed depending on the quality and quantity of information available, whose advantages and limits are discussed with reference to the aquatic compartment. When experimental data are lacking, a predictive approach can be pursued by making use of validated quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs), which provide reliable ecotoxicity estimates only if appropriate models are applied. The experimental approach is central to any environmental hazard assessment procedure, although many uncertainties underlying the extrapolation from a limited set of single species laboratory data to the complexity of the ecosystem (e.g., the limitations of common summary statistics, the variability of species sensitivity, the need to consider alterations at higher level of integration) make the task difficult. When adequate toxicity information are available, the statistical extrapolation approach can be used to predict environmental compatible concentrations.

Animals↗