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Using a biology‐based model (DEBtox) to analyze bioassays in ecotoxicology: Opportunities and recommendations
Author(s) -
Péry Alexandre R. R.,
Flammarion Patrick,
Vollat Bernard,
Bedaux Jacques J. M.,
Kooijman Sebastiaan A. L. M.,
Garric Jeanne
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.5620210232
Subject(s) - bioassay , daphnia magna , biochemical engineering , ecotoxicology , daphnia , toxicokinetics , relevance (law) , experimental data , test (biology) , environmental science , toxicology , biology , computer science , environmental chemistry , statistics , ecology , chemistry , toxicity , mathematics , bioinformatics , organic chemistry , crustacean , pharmacokinetics , political science , law , engineering
The conventional analysis of bioassays does not account for biological significance. However, mathematical models do exist that are realistic from a biological point of view and describe toxicokinetics and effects on test organisms of chemical compounds. Here we studied a biology‐based model (DEBtox) that provides an estimate of a no‐effect concentration, and we demonstrated the ability of such a model to adapt to different situations. We showed that the basic model can be extended to deal with problems usually faced during bioassays like time‐varying concentrations or unsuitable choices of initial concentrations. To reach this goal, we report experimental data from Daphnia magna exposed to zinc. These data also showed the potential benefit of the model in understanding the influence of food on toxicity. We finally make some recommendations about the choice of initial concentrations, and we propose a test with a depuration period to check the relevance and the predictive capacity of the DEBtox model. In our experiments, the model performed well and proved its usefulness as a tool in risk assessment.