Intraspecific Sensitivity to Toxicants – a Methodological Problem of Bioassay: Review

Copper pollution can alter biological and trophic functions. Organisms can utilise different tolerance strategies, including accumulation mechanisms (intracellular vacuoles, external chelation, etc.) to maintain themselves in copper‐polluted environments. Accumulation mechanisms can influence the expression of other phenotypic traits, allowing organisms to deal with copper stress. Whether copper effects on accumulation strategies interact with other environmental stressors such as temperature and how this may differ within species are still unsolved questions. Here, we tested experimentally whether the combined effect of copper and temperature modulates traits linked to demography, morphology, movement and accumulation in six strains of the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila. We also explored whether copper accumulation might modulate environmental copper concentration effects on phenotypic and demographic traits. Results showed high intraspecific variability in the phenotypic and demographic response to copper, with interactive effects between temperature and copper. In addition, they suggested an attenuation effect of copper accumulation on the sensitivity of traits to copper, but with great variation between strains, temperatures and copper concentrations. Diversity of responses among strains and their thermal dependencies pleads for the integration of intraspecific variability and multiple stressors approaches in ecotoxicological studies, thus improving the reliability of assessments of the effects of pollutants on biodiversity.

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Sources of rare earth elements in the environment and their impact on living organisms

Sysolyatina

Olkova

2023

Environ. Rev.

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This review paper aims at understanding natural and anthropogenic sources of rare earth elements (REEs) in the environment, their mechanisms of action, individual toxicity of REEs and individual toxicity of their mixtures, including with other toxicants. We also summarized the scientific knowledge on REE bioaccumulation by plants, animals and fungi. The purpose of the work was to analyze published scientific information and identify unsolved scientific issues in the selected areas. At present, both natural positive geochemical anomalies of REEs and "spots" of anthropogenic origin are discovered. There is a relationship between natural and anthropogenic sources of REEs in the environment. Increasing REE mining leads to the exposure of rock layers rich in target elements, which are then leached from natural and waste rocks. As a result, the total content of REEs in soils of their extraction areas reaches 2.3 µg/kg, and in the snow of cities it is found from 0.411 µg/kg to 1.463 µg/kg, which is comparable with natural anomalies of elements. Most often such levels of REE accumulation are not dangerous for biota. REEs, like many trace elements, have an essential effect in low concentrations and have harmful effects only when the dose is increased. However, stimulation effects proven for agricultural plants and animals in the natural environment can influence the change in population and community structures. The effects of REE compounds have many uncertainties under the conditions of their joint action with each other and with other substances containing biogenic or potentially toxic elements. The article provides examples of additive, synergistic and antagonistic action of a mixture of elements. Further, it is shown that the bioaccumulation of REEs is comparable to the accumulation of heavy metals in living organisms. Data on the transfer of REEs along trophic chains are single and contradictory. Thus, REEs contribute to the toxic load on living organisms. The main “blank spots” in knowledge about the action of REEs that require further research are identification of the most sensitive and vulnerable species, establishment of long-term effects, and clarification of the joint action of REEs with other substances.

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Intraspecific Sensitivity to Toxicants – a Methodological Problem of Bioassay: Review

Cited by 5 publications

References 39 publications

Effects of glyphosate on cladocera: A synthetic review

Effects of glyphosate on cladocera: A synthetic review

The phenotypic and demographic response to the combination of copper and thermal stressors strongly varies within the ciliate species, Tetrahymena thermophila

Sources of rare earth elements in the environment and their impact on living organisms

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