Framework for traits‐based assessment in ecotoxicology

Abstract

A key challenge in ecotoxicology is to assess the potential risks of chemicals to the wide range of species in the environment on the basis of laboratory toxicity data derived from a limited number of species. These species are then assumed to be suitable surrogates for a wider class of related taxa. For example, Daphnia spp. are used as the indicator species for freshwater aquatic invertebrates. Extrapolation from these datasets to natural communities poses a challenge because the extent to which test species are representative of their various taxonomic groups is often largely unknown, and different taxonomic groups and chemicals are variously represented in the available datasets. Moreover, it has been recognized that physiological and ecological factors can each be powerful determinants of vulnerability to chemical stress, thus differentially influencing toxicant effects at the population and community level. Recently it was proposed that detailed study of species traits might eventually permit better understanding, and thus prediction, of the potential for adverse effects of chemicals to a wider range of organisms than those amenable for study in the laboratory. This line of inquiry stems in part from the ecology literature, in which species traits are being used for improved understanding of how communities are constructed, as well as how communities might respond to, and recover from, disturbance (see other articles in this issue). In the present work, we develop a framework for the application of traits-based assessment. The framework is based on the population vulnerability conceptual model of Van Straalen in which vulnerability is determined by traits that can be grouped into 3 major categories, i.e., external exposure, intrinsic sensitivity, and population sustainability. Within each of these major categories, we evaluate specific traits as well as how they could contribute to the assessment of the potential effects of a toxicant on an organism. We then develop an example considering bioavailability to explore how traits could be used mechanistically to estimate vulnerability. A preliminary inventory of traits for use in ecotoxicology is included; this also identifies the availability of data to quantify those traits, in addition to an indication of the strength of linkage between the trait and the affected process. Finally, we propose a way forward for the further development of traits-based approaches in ecotoxicology.

Assessing triclosan-induced ecological and trans-generational effects in natural phytoplankton communities: a trait-based field method

“…For example, trait-based approaches can provide a mechanistic understanding of the success of certain organisms under given environmental conditions and to relate individual-or population-level phenotypic changes to higher level changes in structure and functioning (McGill et al 2006;Litchman et al 2007;Suding et al 2008;Reiss et al 2009;Edwards et al 2013). Trait-based approaches are also being used in ecotoxicology to improve the description of ecological responses to pollutants (such as pesticides) and to extrapolate between different species or populations using traits related to the vulnerability to stressors (Rubach et al 2011;Ippolito et al 2012). In this study we focused on individual phenotypic traits, associated with the morphology and physiology of organisms and therefore their individual fitness (Fig.…”

Traits‐based ecological risk assessment (TERA): Realizing the potential of ecoinformatics approaches in ecotoxicology

“…The first breakout group developed a framework for incorporating species traits in ecotoxicology and the ERA of chemicals (Rubach et al 2011). For this they adapted the vulnerability model of Van Straalen (1994), which distinguishes external exposure, intrinsic sensitivity, and population sustainability as determinants of population vulnerability.…”

Aquatic bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of tetrabromobisphenol-A flame retardant introduced from a typical e-waste recycling site

“…In contrast, the prawn is an epibenthic crustacean and is fully submerged throughout the exposure, using gill respiration (Liu et al 2005). It is suggested that respiration strategy and locomotion mode may largely influence the bioaccumulation of contaminants in aquatic species (Borgå et al 2004;Rubach et al 2011), although there is no such data on TBBP-A. Comparing BAFs between the prey fish species and the predator fish, mud carp (two group t test, p = 0.003) and crucian carp (two group t test, p = 0.001) showed significantly higher BAFs than northern snakehead.…”