title: A sensitive biomarker for the detection of aquatic contamination based on behavioral assays using zebrafish larvae.
abstract: An effective biological early warning system for the detection of water contamination should employ undemanding species that rapidly react to the presence of contaminants in their environment. The demonstrated reaction should be comprehensible and unambiguously evidential of the contamination event. This study utilized 96h post fertilization zebrafish larvae and tested their behavioral response to acute exposure to low concentrations of cadmium chloride (CdCl2) (5.0, 2.5, 1.25, 0.625mg/L) and permethrin (0.05, 0.029, 0.017, 0.01μg/L). We hypothesize that the number of larvae that show advanced trajectories in a group corresponds with water contamination, as the latter triggers avoidance behavior in the organisms. The proportion of advanced trajectories in the control and treated groups during the first minute of darkness was designated as a segregation parameter. It was parametrized and a threshold value was set using one CdCl2 trial and then applied to the remaining CdCl2 and permethrin replicates. For all cases, the method allowed distinguishing between the control and treated groups within two cycles of light: dark. The calculated parameter was statistically significantly different between the treated and control groups, except for the lowest CdCl2 concentration (0.625mg/L) in one replicate. This proof-of-concept study shows the potential of the proposed methodology for utilization as part of a multispecies biomonitoring system.
authors.affiliation: Institute of for Environmental Research, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Leonie K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Nüßer
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Technion - IIT, Haifa 32000, Israel.
authors.forename: Olya
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Skulovich
authors.affiliation: Research Group of Ecology and Behavioral Biology, Institute of Biology, Department of Chemistry and Biology, University of Siegen, Adolf-Reichwein-Str. 2, 57068 Siegen, Germany.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.affiliation: Institute of for Environmental Research, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas-Benjamin
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Seiler
authors.affiliation: Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management, RWTH Aachen University, Mies-van-der-Rohe-Straße 17, 52056 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Catrina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cofalla
authors.affiliation: Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management, RWTH Aachen University, Mies-van-der-Rohe-Straße 17, 52056 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schuettrumpf
authors.affiliation: Institute of for Environmental Research, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Henner
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hollert
authors.affiliation: OptiWater, 6 Amikam Israel St., Haifa 3438561, Israel. Electronic address: http://www.optiwater.com.
authors.forename: Elad
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Salomons
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Technion - IIT, Haifa 32000, Israel. Electronic address: ostfeld@tx.technion.ac.il.
authors.forename: Avi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ostfeld
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D001681:Biological Assay / Q000379:methods*; D015415:Biomarkers; D019256:Cadmium Chloride / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D019256:Cadmium Chloride
keywords: Avoidance behavior; Behavioral assay; Biological early warning systems; Video tracking; Zebrafish larvae