A Review of the Current Status of Marine Algal Toxicity Testing in the United States

Thursby, Glen B.; Anderson, BS; Walsh, Gerald E.; Steele, R.J.

doi:10.1520/stp19252s

Cited by 12 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…This presentation should help to generate realistic metal toxicity data that can be used and incorporated in realistic risk assessment approaches and environmental management purposes. Note that the marine environment is not discussed here; such reviews have been presented by Fletcher (1991), Thursby et al (1993), Thursby and Steele (1995), and Walsh (1982Walsh ( , 1988.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Algal Toxicity Tests for Environmental Risk Assessments of Metals

Janssen

Heijerick²

2003

Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Algal Toxicity Tests for Environmental Risk Assessments of Metals

Janssen

Heijerick²

2003

Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology

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“…Most toxicity tests have used terrestrial plants, primarily crop plants, or freshwater aquatic plants such as algae and duckweed. The use of marine algae for toxicity testing has been reviewed by Walsh [8], Fletcher [9], and Thursby et al [10]. The PHYTOTOX database [11] has catalogued 9,700 references of terrestrial plant responses to a broad range of organic toxicants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of plants for toxicity assessment of estuarine ecosystems

Lytle

2001

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Abstract-Estuarine ecosystems are being rapidly degraded by environmental toxicants from municipal and industrial wastes, agricultural runoff, recreational boating, shipping, and coastal development, ranking them as the most anthropogenically degraded habitat types on earth. Toxicity tests are used to establish links between adverse ecological effects and the toxicity of environmental chemicals. However, most toxicity tests used for regulating the release of chemicals into the environment have used animals as test species, with the erroneous assumption that toxicant levels protective of fish or invertebrates are also protective of plants. Most plant toxicity tests have used terrestrial crop plants, whereas the few aquatic test species used have been primarily freshwater algae. Even though estuarine and marine vascular plants are highly vulnerable to environmental chemicals, phytotoxicity studies using native coastal plants have been limited, and no such studies are required for testing by regulating agencies. The relevance of toxicity tests of estuarine sediments and of wastes entering the estuary should depend on the use of estuarine and marine plant species. This review summarizes toxicity testing of marine plants used in biomonitoring, phytotoxicity, biotransformations of toxicants, bioaccumulation, and phytoremediation. Challenges to marine plant testing are discussed and include developing standard test protocols, identifying species with minimal salinity and toxicant interaction, defining and choosing a suitable sediment for sedimentbound toxicant testing, selecting endpoints with low variability, producing viable seeds, and culturing test plants. Progress in acquiring a suitable database is being made, but at a rate that is inadequate to create the sound, scientific foundation needed for safeguarding our estuarine ecosystems in the near future.

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“…Lastly, preserving macroalgae strains and cultures provides an incredible source of material for industrial and research applications. In particular, specific species and strains of macroalgae are indicators of pollution and overall water quality [57], and therefore can be used as early warnings of degrading systems. Algae are also raw material for innovations in biofuel refinement, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, textiles, and animal feed [58].…”

Section: Developing Stable Aquaculture and Germplasm Banking Techniqumentioning

confidence: 99%

Macroalgal germplasm banking for conservation, food security, and industry

et al. 2020

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Ex situ seed banking was first conceptualized and implemented in the early 20th century to maintain and protect crop lines. Today, ex situ seed banking is important for the preservation of heirloom strains, biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration, and diverse research applications. However, these efforts primarily target microalgae and terrestrial plants. Although some collections include macroalgae (i.e., seaweeds), they are relatively few and have yet to be connected via any international, coordinated initiative. In this piece, we provide a brief introduction to macroalgal germplasm banking and its application to conservation, industry, and mariculture. We argue that concerted effort should be made globally in germline preservation of marine algal species via germplasm banking with an overview of the technical advances for feasibility and ensured success. Macroalgae are essential members of marine communities and are no exception to the threats of climate change Worldwide, biodiversity is declining at alarming rates, resulting in what some scholars are calling the Earth's sixth great extinction event [1]. The marine environment is no exception, with increasing sea surface temperatures leading to drastic alterations in marine populations, communities, and ecosystems [2,3]. Of particular concern is potential for loss of macroalgae (defined as benthic eukaryotic algae of at least 1 mm in length [4]), which function as ecological engineers [5-9], primary producers [3,10], habitat and structure providers [6], nutrient cyclers, keystone species [11], food and nursery grounds for invertebrates and pelagic organisms, and shoreline buffers from storms [12,13]. Furthermore, macroalgae are a US$11 billion industry as food, animal feed, and fertilizers [14-16]. Seaweeds are under threat from multiple stressors including warming sea surface temperatures, pollution, overharvesting, and other anthropogenic disturbances that have major consequences for the structure and function of near-shore coastal ecosystems [13,17]. Although seaweeds are predicted to function photosynthetically well with increases in CO 2 [18,19], their distributions within their local communities (i.e., occupied tidal zone) and globally (i.e., latitudinal range) are likely to be impacted by

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A Review of the Current Status of Marine Algal Toxicity Testing in the United States

Cited by 12 publications

References 52 publications

Algal Toxicity Tests for Environmental Risk Assessments of Metals

Algal Toxicity Tests for Environmental Risk Assessments of Metals

Use of plants for toxicity assessment of estuarine ecosystems

Macroalgal germplasm banking for conservation, food security, and industry

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