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Natural variability of enzymatic biomarkers in freshwater invertebrates

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Abstract

Biomarkers have been widely employed in ecotoxicology as early warning indicators of exposure to toxicants. Very often, they are used to compare reference and polluted sites, or to analyse time trends. However, very few studies focus on the natural variability range of biomarkers in the environment, which is pivotal to understand if the detected differences are actually determined by any adverse effects due to pollution. This work assesses the natural spatio-temporal variability of some enzymatic levels, frequently used as biomarkers, in freshwater benthic invertebrates. The influence of some environmental parameters on the enzymatic levels was also evaluated. Three families of insect larvae (Perlidae, Baetidae, and Heptageniidae) were sampled in three pristine streams and in eight different dates. Four enzymes (acetylcholinesterase, glutathione-S-transferase, alkaline phosphatase, and catalase) were measured. The natural variability of enzymatic levels was often significant in all considered species across both space and time. The observed pattern was poorly explained by the monitored environmental parameters. The results of this work show that great care should be paid when interpreting monitoring data in which biomarker levels are measured and compared among sites or dates. Presuming that measured differences are due to anthropogenic factors can be misleading, when other potentially influencing factors have not been accounted for.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Rachel Sharp for revising the manuscript.

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Author notes

  1. Alessio Ippolito

    Present address: European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Via Carlo Magno 1, 43125, Parma, Italy

  2. Marco Vighi

    Present address: IMDEA Water Institute, Av.da Punto Com 2, 28805, Alcalà de Henares, Madrid, Spain

Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Centre for Pesticides and Health Risk Prevention (ICPS), University Hospital L. Sacco, Via G.B. Grassi 74, 20157, Milan, Italy

    Alessio Ippolito

  2. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 1, 20126, Milan, Italy

    Alessio Ippolito, Roberto Giacchini, Paolo Parenti & Marco Vighi

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  1. Alessio Ippolito
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  2. Roberto Giacchini
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Correspondence to Alessio Ippolito.

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Responsible editor: Cinta Porte

Supporting Information

Online Resource 1

Barplot summarising the monitored physical-chemical parameters of the stream water. (PDF 6 kb)

Online Resource 2

Full dataset used for the analyses in the present paper. (XLSX 37 kb)

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Ippolito, A., Giacchini, R., Parenti, P. et al. Natural variability of enzymatic biomarkers in freshwater invertebrates. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 732–742 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7833-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7833-4

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