Toxicants in polluted environments are often patchily distributed. Hence, rather than being passive absorbers of pollution, some organisms have evolved the ability to detect and avoid toxicants. We studied the avoidance behavior of Physella columbiana, an aquatic pulmonate snail, in a pond that has been polluted with heavy metals for more than 120 years. Populations of this snail are rare at reference sites and are only robust at heavy-metal-polluted sites. We hypothesized that the snails are able to persist because they have evolved the ability to minimize their exposure to metals by actively avoiding metals in their environment. Using a Y-maze flow tank, we tested the avoidance behavior of snails to heavy-metal-polluted sediments and single-metal solutions of cadmium, zinc, or lead. We also tested the avoidance behaviors of the snails' laboratory-reared offspring raised in nonpolluted conditions. In addition, we tested the avoidance behavior of a small population of snails from a reference pond. Although all the snails we tested were able to detect low concentrations of heavy metals, we found that snails from the polluted site were the most sensitive, that their offspring were somewhat less sensitive, and that snails from the reference site were the least sensitive. This suggests that the ability of polluted-site snails to avoid heavy metals is both genetic and environmental. The concentrations of metals avoided by the snails from the polluted site were below the levels found at hot spots within their natal pond. The snails may be able to persist at this site because they decrease their exposure by moving to less-polluted sections of the pond. One application of our findings is the use of aquatic snails and our Y-maze design as an inexpensive pollution detector. Environmental pollutants such as lead, zinc, and arsenic are a problem throughout the world. People in underdeveloped countries often lack sophisticated pollution detection devices. We have developed a behavioral assay of aquatic pollution that is easy to use, is extremely sensitive (detection below 10 ppb), and can be constructed for fewer than 100 US dollars. Pulmonate snails are widely distributed in tropical, subtropical, and temperate parts of the globe, and they are often common in polluted waters. For countries such as India and Bangladesh, which must test thousands of shallow wells for possible contamination with heavy metals, our assay would be a good initial test. Once snails detected metals, then those samples could be confirmed by spectrometers. We encourage scientists in underdeveloped nations to consider our assay as an option.

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High-temperature aquifer thermal energy storage (HT-ATES) is a promising technique to reduce the CO2 footprint of heat supply in the frame of transitioning to renewable energies. However, HT-ATES causes temperature fluctuations in groundwater ecosystems potentially affecting important microbial-mediated ecosystem services. Hence, assessing the impact of increasing temperatures on the structure and functioning of aquifer microbiomes is crucial to evaluate potential environmental risks associated with HT-ATES. In this study, we investigated the effects of temperature variations (12–80°C) on microbial communities and their capacity to mineralize acetate in aerobically incubated sediment sampled from a pristine aquifer. Compared to natural conditions (12°C), increased acetate mineralization rates were observed at 25°C, 37°C and 45°C, whereas mineralization was decelerated at 60°C and absent at 80°C. Sequencing of 16S rRNA genes revealed that the bacterial diversity in acetate-amended and non-acetate-amended sediments decreased with rising temperatures. Distinct communities dominated by bacterial groups affiliated with meso- and thermophilic bacteria established at 45°C and 60°C, respectively, while the number of archaeal phylotypes decreased. The changes in microbial diversity observed at 45°C and 60°C indicate a potential loss of ecosystem functioning, functional redundancy and resilience, while heat storage at 80°C bears the risk of ecological collapse.