GamTox: A Low-Cost Multimetric Ecotoxicity Test withGammarusspp. forInandEx SituApplication

Abstract

Gammarus spp. represent an important taxon in running water ecosystems concerning both structural and functional aspects. Gammarus spp. are also part of several macrozoobenthos indices for assessing biological water quality. However, in ecotoxicological water quality assessment, this taxon has been used much less than Daphnia spp. A new user-friendly and low-cost test protocol for Gammarus spp. has been developed, constituting the "ecotoxicological module "of an integrated multimetric triad-based concept for water quality assessment. The GamTox test is based on several test parameters: behavior (especially locomotion and feeding) depicts rapid and sensitive early warning indicators, survival displays an indicator of severe acute stress, and biochemical biomarkers, esp. AChE inhibition, is a sensitive marker of neurotoxic xenobiotic stress. GamTox can be performed both in situ and ex situ, based either on visual or automatical recording.

Active <i>in Situ</i> Biomonitoring of Pesticide Pulses Using <i>Gammarus</i> spp. in Small Tributaries of Lake Constance

“…As shredders they play an important role in the decay of coarse detritus, affecting the microbial loop and the cycling of C and N in streams [3,8]. European gammarids, esp.…”

“…However, gammarids are sometimes even more sensitive than daphnids, e.g. for pyrethroids [3,9]. Thus, they are the optimal candidates for active in situ pollution biomoni-toring in running waters.…”

“…2600 µg/L, for gammarids ca. 4000 µg/L [3], Carbendazim is a highly toxic fungicide recorded at almost acutely toxic levels at Mörschwil (0.26 µg/L), LC50-96 h for gammarids: 1 -10 µg/L). In conclusion, the acute toxicity recorded within 2 weeks of exposure of Gammarus fossarum in the Häftlibach was most likely caused by a peak in Carbendazim in the 2 nd week of exposure at acute toxic levels combined with high Ammonium load in the first week, which might have made the animals even more susceptible to the pesticide pulse.…”

“…Gammarids form a group with more than hundred species and represent an important key taxon in small streams in the Northern Hemisphere: both their abundance and their role in the food web (detritus cycling, controlling the microbial loop), their biological indicator function (β-mesosaprob) and their wide distribution combined with their sensitivity towards many pollutants make them perfect test species in applied aquatic ecotoxicology and integrated triad-based water quality assessment according to the WFD [3]. GamTox TM is a novel low-cost test based on behavior and survival that has recently been developed for both laboratory and in situ application, in order to bridge the extrapolation gap [3].…”

“…GamTox TM is a novel low-cost test based on behavior and survival that has recently been developed for both laboratory and in situ application, in order to bridge the extrapolation gap [3]. In situ tests with gammarids are still rare.…”