BIOL354 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Bioindicator, Frond, Phenanthrene
25 Dec 2012
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Document Summary
Whole organism: acute (life/death); chronic (growth or reproduction); & multi-species (life or growth) Biomarker/bioindicator: biochemical indicator for respiration, mutations, etc. Widely available, culturable w/ sufficient quantities, known history & genetics. Positive controls require known relative toxicity of various toxicants for the specie tested. Specie tested should have a representative sensitivity; interactions b/w organisms & environment must be understood in multi-species tests. Regulatory agency mandates (the species tested must be relevant to the environment) Positive control (can be done with many chemicals: advantages: Can be geared into chronic, life cycle (2 weeks) tests w/bioindicator assessments. High sensitivity to contaminants & static renewal (over detection of contaminants) Starvation test causes extra stress (might contribute to high sensitivity) Steep dose response curve (easy to find lc50 but rapid change over short period: e. g. Phenanthrene (pah) vs. pheanthrene quinone (oxidized pah photo-oxidation) Same mechanism, but lc50 is much less for o-pah than for pah. Rapid, cheap, small amount of solution = less waste generated.
