Premium
Review of aquatic in situ approaches for stressor and effect diagnosis
Author(s) -
Crane Mark,
Burton G Allen,
Culp Joseph M,
Greenberg Marc S,
Munkittrick Kelly R,
Ribeiro Rui,
Salazar Michael H,
StJean Sylvie D
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
integrated environmental assessment and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.665
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1551-3793
pISSN - 1551-3777
DOI - 10.1897/ieam_2006-027.1
Subject(s) - stressor , aquatic toxicology , biota , environmental science , in situ , aquatic environment , aquatic ecosystem , environmental resource management , computer science , biochemical engineering , ecology , biology , toxicity , geography , engineering , chemistry , neuroscience , organic chemistry , meteorology
Field‐based (in situ) approaches are used increasingly for measuring biological effects and for stressor diagnoses in aquatic systems because these assessment tools provide realistic exposure environments that are rarely replicated in laboratory toxicity tests. Providing realistic exposure scenarios is important because environmental conditions can alter toxicity through complex exposure dynamics (e.g., multiple stressor interactions). In this critical review, we explore the information provided by aquatic in situ exposure and monitoring methods when compared with more traditional approaches and discuss the associated strengths and limitations of these techniques. In situ approaches can, under some circumstances, provide more valuable information to a decision maker than information from surveys of resident biota, laboratory toxicity tests, or chemical analyses alone. A decision tree is provided to assist decision makers in determining when in situ approaches can add value.