Trophic Chain Transfer of Contaminants in Aquatic Environments during the Global Change

Dear Colleagues,

Presence of contaminants in water environments is increasingly being reported all over the world. While contamination by “old” classes of substances and trace elements is relatively under control in most areas of the world, new generation compounds in non-negligible numbers are fastly released into aquatic environments of industrialized countries, even when regulations for their characterization and discharge (such as REACH in Europe) exist. This poses severe control problems also in terms of legislation processes aimed at controlling their use and spread. Once released into the environment, contaminants are seized through the food web; level of contamination of the different components varies depending on physiology and on ecological role of organisms. Lipophilic compounds tend to accumulate at the higher levels of the trophic web, and in larger-sized organisms, such as fish, therefore proving to be potentially harmful also for human consumption and human health.

Understanding patterns and mechanisms of pollutant transport through the food web is therefore essential for understanding level and duration of pollution and ecologically-sound perspectives of restoration within the ideal world of the water recircle. To this aim, basic knowledge of functional diversity of aquatic communities is crucial, allowing to identify ecological roles of different taxa comprising the aquatic community. In this respect, taxa-specific carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis are very useful, providing quantitative estimates of organisms’ ecological roles and of organisms’ interactions, as well as habitat preferences and how they can change over time.

Dr. Marina Manca
Dr. Roberta Piscia
Dr. Laura Marziali
Guest Editors

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