Aquatic ecosystem as a bioreactor: water purification and some other functions.
A fundamental concept is proposed of aquatic ecosystem as a bioreactor that carries out the function of water purification in natural water bodies and streams. The ecosystem as a bioreactor has the following characteristic attributes: (1) it is a large-scale (large-volume) bioreactor; (2) it is a diversified (in terms of the number of taxa and the scope of functional activities) bioreactor; (3) it possesses a broad range of biocatalytic (chemical-transforming and degrading) capabilities. New experimental data on xenobiotics-induced inhibition of the functioning of the molluscs Unio tu- midus, U. pictorum, M. galloprovincialis and Limnaea stagnalis emphasize the potential ecological hazard from sublethal concentrations of pollutants (including those exemplified by synthetic surfactants and detergents).
Ostroumov
Sergei A
SA
Department of Hydrobiology, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University, Russian Federation.
D000818:Animals; D019149:Bioreactors; D003902:Detergents / Q000633:toxicity; D017753:Ecosystem; D008386:Marine Biology; D008974:Mollusca / Q000187:drug effects; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*; D018508:Water Purification; D015262:Xenobiotics / Q000633:toxicity
D003902:Detergents; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D015262:Xenobiotics