A standardized tritrophic small‐scale system (TriCosm) for the assessment of stressor‐induced effects on aquatic community dynamics. (5th January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Riedl, Verena; Agatz, Annika; Benstead, Rachel; Ashauer, Roman
• Is Part Of: Environmental toxicology and chemistry. Volume 37:Number 4(2018)
• Page Start: 1051
• Page End: 1060
• Publication Date: 2018-01-05
• Subjects: Ecological risk assessment -- Aquatic invertebrate -- Population‐level effect -- Food chain -- Aquatic microcosm -- Multispecies testing; Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental chemistry -- Periodicals; 615.902
• DOI: 10.1002/etc.4032
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0730-7268

Abstract

Abstract: Chemical impacts on the environment are routinely assessed in single‐species tests. They are employed to measure direct effects on nontarget organisms, but indirect effects on ecological interactions can only be detected in multispecies tests. Micro‐ and mesocosms are more complex and environmentally realistic, yet they are less frequently used for environmental risk assessment because resource demand is high, whereas repeatability and statistical power are often low. Test systems fulfilling regulatory needs (i.e., standardization, repeatability, and replication) and the assessment of impacts on species interactions and indirect effects are lacking. In the present study we describe the development of the TriCosm, a repeatable aquatic multispecies test with 3 trophic levels and increased statistical power. High repeatability of community dynamics of 3 interacting aquatic populations (algae, Ceriodaphnia, and Hydra ) was found with an average coefficient of variation of 19.5% and the ability to determine small effect sizes. The TriCosm combines benefits of both single‐species tests (fulfillment of regulatory requirements) and complex multispecies tests (ecological relevance) and can be used, for instance, at an intermediate tier in environmental risk assessment. Furthermore, comparatively quickly generated population and community toxicity data can be useful for the development and testing of mechanistic effect models. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:1051–1060. © 2017 SETAC