Vallisneria americana as a Biomonitor of Aquatic Ecosystems: Leaf-to-Root Surface Area Ratios and Organic Contamination in the Huron-Erie Corridor

Biernacki, Maciej; Lovett‐Doust, Jon; Lovett‐Doust, Lesley

doi:10.1016/s0380-1330(96)70956-5

Cited by 15 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…The biotic approach includes plants, animals and microbes as bioindicators. Some selected vascular plants (Soliman and Ramadan 1993;Anonymous 1994;Biernacki et al 1996Biernacki et al , 1997 or non-vascular plants and microbes viz: diatoms, fungi, lichen, algae (Markert 1993;Al-Shayeb et al 1995;Korhola et al 1999) has been applied intensively. On the other hand, using some invertebrates e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Long-Term Heavy Metal Contamination on Diversity of Terricolous Fungi and Nematodes in Egypt - A Case Study

Abdel-Azeem

Abdelmoneim

Ibrahim

et al. 2007

Water Air Soil Pollut

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Long-Term Heavy Metal Contamination on Diversity of Terricolous Fungi and Nematodes in Egypt - A Case Study

Abdel-Azeem

Abdelmoneim

Ibrahim

et al. 2007

Water Air Soil Pollut

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“…Plants were preserved in 1‐L glass jars containing a 4% formaldehyde solution and stored at room temperature until analysis. Previous studies have shown that this method of preservation does not alter the surface area of the plants (Biernacki et al 1996).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Hence it was hypothesized that V. americana plants accumulated the TCE primarily through their roots, where it likely remained, since organochlorine contaminants typically have very limited mobility within plant tissues (Guilizzoni 1991). The resultant increase in leaf‐to‐root surface area ratio of the plants was due to decreased root length and diameter causing a proportionately greater allocation of biomass to the leaves, which were surrounded by the relatively less contaminated water column (Biernacki et al 1996). The study also examined the change in leaf‐to‐root surface area ratios over the 40‐d duration of the experiment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ratios were observed to increase over the first 10 d of exposure, then remained relatively constant until the end of the study. In further field studies, Biernacki et al (1996) examined the leaf‐to‐root surface area ratio of V. americana collected from 243 natural populations in the Huron–Erie corridor of the Great Lakes. The ratio was found to be significantly correlated ( P < 0.001) with the ranking of the collection sites in terms of concentrations of various organochlorine contaminants reported independently in the published literature, for both sediments and biota (Biernacki et al 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In further field studies, Biernacki et al (1996) examined the leaf‐to‐root surface area ratio of V. americana collected from 243 natural populations in the Huron–Erie corridor of the Great Lakes. The ratio was found to be significantly correlated ( P < 0.001) with the ranking of the collection sites in terms of concentrations of various organochlorine contaminants reported independently in the published literature, for both sediments and biota (Biernacki et al 1996). These studies, however, did not investigate the relationship between the leaf‐to‐root surface area ratio of V. americana and other types of contaminants (such as heavy metals), or other physical and chemical descriptors of site quality, such as levels of macronutrients, organic matter, light availability, and etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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BIOMONITORING SITE QUALITY IN STRESSED AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS USINGVALLISNERIA AMERICANA

Potter¹,

Lovett‐Doust²

2001

Ecological Applications

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Leaf‐to‐root surface area ratios in Vallisneria americana have been shown to provide a simple and inexpensive relative measure of sublethal effects of organochlorine contamination. The present study was conducted to determine whether this index of surface area could be used as an effective biomonitor of overall site quality in stressed aquatic ecosystems. The leaf‐to‐root surface area ratio was determined for samples of V. americana collected from 225 microsites within 12 Areas of Concern (environmentally contaminated areas designated by the International Joint Commission) throughout the Laurentian Great Lakes of Ontario. Statistical analyses indicate that 77% of the variation in the surface area index could be attributed to differences among microsites, with only 23% of variation occurring among plants within a microsite. A multiple regression equation was developed for predicting the leaf‐to‐root surface area ratio from several measures of microsite quality. Significant parameters affecting the surface area ratio included plant density, light intensity, and an index of sediment contamination. In contrast, measures of water contamination did not show any correlation with leaf‐to‐root surface area ratio. These observations support the hypothesis that V. americana accumulates contaminants primarily from the sediments and that the leaf‐to‐root surface area ratio can be used to construct contours of point source impact zones in Areas of Concern. The regression model developed here provides a simple, inexpensive means for monitoring overall site quality throughout the Great Lakes.

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Laboratory assay of sediment phytotoxicity using the macrophyte Vallisneria americana

Biernacki

Lovett‐Doust

1997

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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In contrast to their ecological importance, submersed rooted macrophytes have been overlooked in environmental science. Presently, the array of standard phytotoxic bioassays includes only one free‐floating vascular macrophyte (Lemna) and several algal species. A short‐term and inexpensive assay was studied for feasibility in evaluating sediment quality. Cloned ramets of the macrophyte Vallisneria americana were used to test phytotoxicity of sediments collected at different locations in the Detroit River. Ramets were planted in sediment samples and placed in greenhouse aquaria. After a week of exposure, ramets of V. americana were destructively sampled and preserved. The leaf and root surfaces areas were determined, and plant biomass was recorded for each ramet. An index of the leaf‐to‐root surface area ratio was a reliable predictor of sediment phytotoxicity; the ratio of leaf‐to‐root mass was also useful but proved less consistent. Ramets grown in sediments that were relatively less contaminated with organic compounds had lower values of the leaf‐to‐root surface area ratio, while plants grown in more contaminated sediments had greater values. Results of analyses of variance indicated that the index of leaf‐to‐root surface area ratio responded to sediment quality but was not significantly affected by either variation in plant genotype or interaction between sediment and plant genotype. There was a significant correlation (p < 0.001) between rank‐ordered results of the present greenhouse study and results of leaf‐to‐root surface area ratios for plants previously surveyed in the field.

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Vallisneria americana as a Biomonitor of Aquatic Ecosystems: Leaf-to-Root Surface Area Ratios and Organic Contamination in the Huron-Erie Corridor

Cited by 15 publications

References 43 publications

Effects of Long-Term Heavy Metal Contamination on Diversity of Terricolous Fungi and Nematodes in Egypt - A Case Study

Effects of Long-Term Heavy Metal Contamination on Diversity of Terricolous Fungi and Nematodes in Egypt - A Case Study

BIOMONITORING SITE QUALITY IN STRESSED AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS USINGVALLISNERIA AMERICANA

Laboratory assay of sediment phytotoxicity using the macrophyte Vallisneria americana

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