I am exploring technology that can result in a low cost, onsite assessment of aquatic invertebrate behavior (movement) as an endpoint for ecological risk assessment. If statistical analysis can confirm a difference between movements of individual aquatic invertebrates upstream, in, and below stream of point discharge, could this be of use for phase 1 or other studies of risk assessment? Thanks, Lou
it's a great pleasure to share something regarding this dear Louis;
during avoidance study there are at some points the organisms tend to avoid the situations in which they suppose not to live; this is what exactly the organisms like micro or macro organisms in river do. most of the macro invertebrate organisms which have the ability to move will avoid the condition persists over a particular area whereas the non-motile organisms are the real indicators for a long term impacts; their presence and absence in an particular region gives exact level of threat in that particular area. this will give us the reality of the ecosystem.
further the studies on accumulation of materials in plants and organisms gives the result for major risk assessment part.
Of course, you can use aquatic invertebrate behaviour as an endpoint for ecological risk assessment. I can confirm you that from my experience with crabs (Carcinus aestuarii) that they exhibit "shooting behaviour" during exposure to pH changes in experimental conditions. Sometimes they show also agressive behaviour in response to stresants as for example chlorophorm. There are also evidence of changes in acetilcolinesterase enzyme activity in invertebrates due to water contaminants.
Of course, you can use aquatic invertebrate behaviour as an endpoint for ecological risk assessment. I can confirm you that from my experience with crabs (Carcinus aestuarii) that they exhibit "shooting behaviour" during exposure to pH changes in experimental conditions. Sometimes they show also agressive behaviour in response to stresants as for example chlorophorm. There are also evidence of changes in acetilcolinesterase enzyme activity in invertebrates due to water contaminants.
....morphometric variables can also provide explanatory information as to my the behaviour of a species differ in different environments.
Thank you for the answers.
Azubuike please explain what you mean by morphometric variables.
Valbona please direct me to a paper in which "shooting behaviour" or other similar endpoint behavior that was applied to an environmental risk assessment.
..by morphometric variables i mean measurement of body parts in an allometric sense. for instance the relative size of the pelvic fin to the total length of a fish can give an idea of its adaptation to littoral or pelagic life or adaptation to predation. Although your focus is on invertebrates i believe you can take a cue from this.
Also, understanding asymmetry in paired structures in invertebrates upstream and downstream from a point discharge can tangibly explain altered environmental behaviors of species exposed due to pollution.
Yes, Of course, you can read more information in the paper "Behavioural ecotoxicology, an “early warning” signal to assess environmental quality" Environ Sci Pollut Res (2011) 18:1–11
Thank you Azubuike and Xiaowei. Papers like that one are for what I search.
Do regulatory agencies like EPA here in America accept abnormal movement (behavior) as an endpoint at least in scoping or phase 1 of risk assessments?
Louis
It would be difficult to convince regulators or, in particular, the regulated, that movement is by itself an ecologically-relevant assessment endpoint in a definative. You would have to show clear mechanistic linkages between changes in movement and widely accepted assessment endpoints (e.g., population or community level endpoints to which Gerald alluded to), or at least strong associations between changes in movement and changes in higher-level effects.
It sounds as if this effect might be better suited to being part of a battery of assays that could be used in a weight of evidence approach, or to discern causality for observed ecological effects. It could also be used as preliminary evidence to justify more in-depth assessments as part of a screening assessment, but again, you could probably justify a full-blown definative risk assessment solely on the basis of one assay.
Thanks Christopher. Your response is input for which I am seeking. I am contemplating testing the technology in the lab with dose-response experiments.
Movement is definitely a possible endpoint with ecological relevance. It is often used in ecological assessment and mode of action studies using fish, fish embryo or invertebrates (e.g. nematodes). For practical reasons it is mostly done in laboratory settings using tracking camera's and software, either 2D or 3D. Using it in the field, seems to me, a difficult task. Maybe it is possible to transplant invertebrates from a pollution gradient to a lab situation and register differences, but that remains to be tried.
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