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Pollution-induced community tolerance (PICT) uses increased tolerance in populations at contaminated sites as an indicator of contaminant effects. However, given the broad structural and functional complexity that characterizes biological communities, the acquisition of PICT could vary with (i) target community, (ii) intensity of toxicant exposure, (iii) the species succession stage, and (iv) the physicochemical characteristics of the studied site. To assess the spatio-temporal changes of zinc-induced tolerance in fluvial biofilm communities, we conducted an in situ study in Osor River (North-East Catalonia, Spain), which has zinc contamination. Biofilms were developed for 5 weeks in a non-metal-polluted site, and were then transferred to different sites in Osor River with different levels of zinc contamination. The spatio-temporal changes of biofilm PICT to zinc was determined using photosynthetic activity bioassays and respiration-induced aerobic bioassays at T(0), and at 1, 3 and 5 weeks of exposure. We also performed physicochemical characterization of the sites, taxonomic analysis of diatoms, bacterial and fungal diversity and profiled pigments of phototrophic communities. We used multivariate ordination to analyze results. In addition to natural species succession, the intensity of metal pollution exerted structural pressure by selecting the most metal-tolerant species, but differently depending on the type of biofilm. Zn-tolerance values indicated that exposure to high levels of zinc had effects that were similar to a longer exposure to lower levels of zinc.

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A study was carried out to evaluate the sensitivity of different chlorophyll-a (chl-a) fluorescence parameters measured in freshwater biofilms as metal pollution biomarkers of short-and long-term metal exposures at environmentally realistic concentrations. A microcosm experiment was performed using indoor channels. Mature biofilms were exposed from hours to weeks to three different treatments: NoMetal, Zn (400 lg l -1 ); and Zn plus Cd (400 lg l -1 and 20 lg l -1 , respectively). Metal concentration was based on a real case study: the Riou-Mort River (France). Biofilms exposed to Zn bioaccumulated similar Zn contents per dry weight to those exposed to the mixture (Zn plus Cd) causing a similar inhibition of the effective quantum yield ðU 0 M Þ during the first hours of exposure. A reduction of the algal biomass, a shift in the community composition (a high reduction of diatoms), a reduction of the maximal quantum yield (U M ) and a strong reduction of non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) were observed from day 14 until the end of the experiment (35 days). The results indicate that the effects of the metal mixture present in the Riou-Mort on biofilms could be attributed to Zn toxicity. The use of a set of chl-a fluorescence measurements, including photochemical and NPQ parameters, are recommended as a reliable biomarker tool box to evaluate both short-and long-term effects of metals on biofilms containing oxygenic photoautotrophs, suggesting its use in field applications.

Microplastics are ubiquitous in the environment, with high concentrations being detected now also in river corridors and sediments globally. Whilst there has been increasing field evidence of microplastics accumulation in the guts and tissues of freshwater and marine aquatic species, the uptake mechanisms of microplastics into freshwater food webs, and the physical and geological controls on pathway-specific exposures to microplastics, are not well understood. This knowledge gap is hampering the assessment of exposure risks, and potential ecotoxicological and public health impacts from microplastics.This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of key research challenges in analysing the environmental fate and transport of microplastics in freshwater ecosystems, including the identification of hydrological, sedimentological and particle property controls on microplastic accumulation in aquatic ecosystems. This mechanistic analysis outlines the dominant pathways for exposure to microplastics in freshwater ecosystems and identifies potentially critical uptake mechanisms and entry pathways for microplastics and associated contaminants into aquatic food webs as well as their risk to accumulate and biomagnify.We identify seven key research challenges that, if overcome, will permit the advancement beyond current conceptual limitations and provide the mechanistic process understanding required to assess microplastic exposure, uptake, hazard, and overall risk to aquatic systems and humans, and provide key insights into the priority impact pathways in freshwater ecosystems to support environmental management decision making.