Bioaccumulation and biochemical response in South American native species exposed to zinc: Boosted regression trees as novel tool for biomarkers selection

BERTRAND, L.; ASIS, RAMÓN; MONFERRÁN, MAGDALENA VICTORIA; AMÉ, M.V

ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2016

1470-160X

he aim of this study was to evaluate the response of a wide battery of biomarkers in two native species, the freshwater shrimp Palaemonetes argentinus and the macrophyte Potamogeton pusillus, experimentally exposed to zinc in order to establish the potential use of selected species as bioindicators of aquatic pollution. For this purpose, we propose the use of integrated biomarker index (IBR) with a previous selection of biomarkers using boosted regression trees (BRTs) as a new tool in ecotoxicology. Organisms were collected from a reference site, acclimated and exposed at relevant environmental zinc levels (control, 5, 50 and 500 µg Zn L-1) for 96 hours. Biomarkers were measured in cephalothorax and abdomen of shrimp as well as in leaf, stem and root of plants. Significant zinc accumulation was observed in cephalothorax of P. argentinus from 50 µg Zn L-1 and from 5 µg Zn L-1 in stem and root of P. pusillus, when compared with control condition. Those effect biomarkers with significan