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REVIEW ARTICLE - Biomonitoring of aquatic pollution: status and trends from genomics to populations
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This review examines the use of biological organisms — from algae and insects to fish and amphibians — as indicators of aquatic pollution, including emerging contaminants. Modern genomics tools are enabling more sensitive detection of pollution effects, complementing traditional biomonitoring of microplastic and chemical contamination.
Biomonitoring offers an appealing tool for the assessment of pollution in aquatic ecosystem. Biological processes, species, or communities of bioindicators are used to assess the quality of the environment and how it changes over time. Bioindicators include algae, macrophytes, zooplanktons, insects, bivalves, molluscs, gastropods, fish, amphibians, and others. Changes in aquatic ecosystems are often attributed to anthropogenic disturbances, including pollution. Major contributors to aquatic pollution include wastewater, metals and metalloids, industrial effluents, contaminated sediments, nutrients, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, flame retardants, persistent organic pollutants, pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs, emerging contaminants (such as microplastics and engineered nanoparticles), pesticides, herbicides, and endocrine disruptors. In this review, we discuss categories of aquatic pollutants, status and trends of aquatic biomonitoring and approaches, from genomics to populations. We conclude by offering recommendations for research and regulatory testing.
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Biomonitoring of aquatic pollution: status and trends from genomics to populations
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This review examines the status and trends in biomonitoring of aquatic pollution, covering methods ranging from genomics to population-level assessments. The authors survey the range of biological indicators used to assess pollution effects in freshwater and marine ecosystems.
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This review examines field-validated biomarker approaches for monitoring water pollution, showing that enzymatic activity changes in fish exposed to heavy metals, pesticides, microplastics, and persistent organic pollutants serve as sensitive and reliable indicators of aquatic contamination across diverse environments.
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This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of bioindicators for detecting microplastic pollution, covering organisms from bacteria and algae to invertebrates and vertebrates that serve as early warning sentinels for plastic contamination in the environment. The authors assess the methodological approaches for using these bioindicators and their utility for monitoring ecological health in microplastic-affected ecosystems.
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