updated:
Biocontrol of Water Quality: Multifunctional Role of Biota in Water Self-Purification
http://5bio5.blogspot.com/2012/08/biocontrol-of-water-quality.html
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Reference:
S.A. Ostroumov.
Biocontrol of Water Quality: Multifunctional Role of Biota in Water Self-Purification.-
Russian Journal of General Chemistry, 2010, Vol. 80, No. 13, 2010, pp. 2754–2761.
Full text free:
[this paper was bookmarked by many Internet users]:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227303635_Biocontrol_of_water_quality_Multifunctional_role_of_biota_in_water_self-purification
https://www.academia.edu/782348/S._A._Ostroumov._Biocontrol_of_Water_Quality_Multifunctional_Role_of_Biota_in_Water_Self-Purification.-_Russian_Journal_of_General_Chemistry_2010_Vol._
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key words:
aquatic, ecosystems, freshwater ecology, marine ecology, theory, self-purification, water quality, water resources, role of organisms, role of biodiversity, water bodies, water streams,
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© Pleiades Publishing Ltd., 2010. ISSN 1070-3632,
Original Russian Text © S.A. Ostroumov, 2010, published in the journal 'Ekologicheskaya Khimiya', 2010, Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 197–204.
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Abstract in short:
An innovative theory of ecological mechanisms of self-purification of water in freshwater and marine ecosystems. The theory helps to protect water resources of rivers, lakes, and other water bodies that are important for water supply.
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Abstract:
The paper presents an updated conceptualization of ecosystem’s biomachinery (a new scientific term that was proposed by the author; it means ecological mechanisms that include biological communities and biodiversity) which improves water quality. The innovative experimental data analysis, concepts, and generalizations in this article provide the fundamental elements of the new qualitative theory of biocontrol of water quality in a systematized form. This theory was put forward in the previous papers of the author. The theory covers water self-purification in freshwater and marine ecosystems. The theory is supported by the results of the author’s experimental studies of the effects exerted by some chemical pollutants including synthetic surfactants, detergents, and other xenobiotics on aquatic organisms. The new fundamental conceptualization provides a basis for remediation of polluted aquatic ecosystems including purification of water bodies and streams, and briefly present the qualitative theory of the self-purification mechanism of aquatic ecosystems, phytoremediation and other types of technologies.
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S. A. Ostroumov
Laboratory of Physico-Chemistry of Biomembranes, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University,
Moscow, 119234 Russia;
Received November 30, 2009;
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Abstract — The experimental data analysis, concepts, and generalizations in this article provide the fundamental elements of the qualitative theory of biocontrol of water quality in a systematized form. The theory covers water self-purification in freshwater and marine ecosystems. The theory is supported by the results of the author’s experimental studies of the effects exerted by some chemical pollutants including synthetic surfactants, detergents, and other xenobiotics onaquatic organisms. The theory provides a basis for remediation of polluted aquatic ecosystems including purification of water bodies and streams, and briefly present the qualitative theory of the self-purification mechanism of aquatic ecosystems, phytoremediation and other types of technologies.
DOI: 10.1134/S1070363210130086
Text of the paper:
INTRODUCTION
The benefi ts of aquatic resources and proper water
quality are classical examples of ecosystem services.
In 2000 some elements of the theory of the function
of aquatic ecosystems were developed [1]. However,
the role of aquatic biota in the control of water quality
still needed to be covered by a scientifi c analysis, and
enormous amount of relevant data needed to be organized.
Water quality depends on the activities of many
aquatic organisms [2–19].
The role of the ecological factors and processes
that contribute to improving water quality (water
self-purification) increases due to the deterioration of
natural water quality [3, 4, 14, 20] an anthropogenic
impact on water bodies and streams [3, 14, 21–41].
The self-purification of aquatic ecosystems and water
quality formation is controlled by many factors [8, 15,
17, 20–33, 36–38, 42–50].
The aim of this study is to systematize some key segments
of the knowledge about the polyfunctional role of
aquatic biota (aquatic organisms) in the self-purification
of water bodies and streams and to present briefly the
qualitative theory of the self-purification mechanism of
aquatic ecosystems. The synthesis and system-based
organization of the material was made at the conceptual
level without detailed review of extensive literature. This
paper is substantially based on the string of our previous
publications including published in refs. [18, 19, 24,
32, 51] and some others. The article is not a review of
extensive literature in the fi eld, it is an opinion paper
that is an outcome of a multi-year period of experimental
studies and publications by the author.
COMPLEX OF PROCESSES CONTRIBUTING
TO THE WATER QUALITY AND THE WATER
SELF-PURIFICATION IN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
The formation of water quality and its purification in
the aquatic ecosystems is governed by physical, chemical
[42], and biotic [1, 2, 8, 15, 17, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26,
28, 30, 31, 33, 36–38, 42, 46, 49, 50] processes.
The physical and chemical processes of water selfpurification
are often controlled by biological factors
or strongly depend on them. Thus, the redox state of
the aquatic environment, which is formed with the
participation of H2O2 released by microalgae in the
light [23, 42], is of an importance for a decrease in the
toxic effect of some pollutants. The concentration of
H2O2 in the river Volga was found to be equal up to
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RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF GENERAL CHEMISTRY Vol. 80 No. 13 2010
10–6–10–5 mol l–1, which was found by measurements
made by Dr. E.V. Shtamm and other authors [23, 42].
An important process is gravitational sedimentation
of suspended particles both of biotic and abiotic
nature. The sedimentation of phytoplankton depends
on water temperature. The sedimentation velocity
is equal to 0.3–1.5, 0.4–1.7, and 0.4–2.0 m day–1 at
T = 15, 20 and 25C, respectively. According to our
data, the sedimentation velocity of the pellets of Lymnaea
stagnalis varies from 0.6 to 1.4 cm s–1 with a
mean value of 0.82 cm s–1 at T = 22–24°C [23].
Experiments with the traps for suspended particles
showed that the suspended matter precipitates onto the
bed of the river Moskva with a mean rate of 2.3 mg cm–2
of the bed surface, that is, 23.1 g m2 day–1 of the bed
surface. The proportion of Corg (where C is carbon) in
these sediments is 64.5% [40].
Organic matter oxidation and water filtration by
aquatic invertebrate animals (fi lter-feeders) are among
the majorbiotic processes contributing to improve water
quality and water purification.
The overall oxidation of organic matter by the entire
community can be expressed either in absolute or in
relative units, for example, as the ratio of energy expenditure
to the exchange (total respiration R) by aquatic
animals to their total biomass B. This ratio (R/B)e is
referred to as Schroedinger ratio. The subscript “e”
is introduced to show that the estimation is made for
the ecosystem as a whole. In the water bodies where
primary production exceeds the total respiration of the
community this ratio averages 3.0–6.1 [1], but it can
be even greater in some water bodies. For example,
the Schroedinger ratio is 17.0 in the lake Lyubevoe in
the Leningrad province and 33.8 in the lake Zun-Torei
east of the lake Baikal [1]. It is believed that the primary
production in these lakes is much less than the
total respiration, and a large amount of organic matter
delivered from outside is oxidized here.
Many aquatic organisms contribute to organic matter
oxidation but particular role in this oxidation belongs
to bacteria [31]. The total population of heterotrophic
bacterioplankton taken at a depth of 0.1–1.0 m in
the Mozhaisk Reservoir in June and July amounted
to (1.4–5.9) 109, and the population of hydrocarbonoxidizing
bacteria was (0.4–5.0) 106 cell ml–1 [8].
The rate of water filtration (FR) by some aquatic animals
(e.g., zooplankton, barnacles, some echinoderms,
bivalves, polychaetes, sponges and many others) commonly
amounts to 1–9 l h–1 g–1 of ash-free dry mass [22,
23]. The dependence of filtration rate, l h–1, on the mass
of the aquatic animal dry weight of soft tissues (DW, g),
can be described by the power function [2, 23]:
FR = a DWb
The values of a coefficient for some bivalve mollusk
species vary from 6.8 to 11.6, and those of coefficient
b are between 0.66 and 0.92 [23]. The rate of water
filtration by five bivalve mollusk species converted to the
area of their gills is about 1.2–1.9 ml min–1 cm–2 [23].
The total rate of water fi ltration by benthic (bottom-
dwelling) populations of macroinvertebrates
(e.g., bivalve mollusks, polychaetes) was estimated at
1–10 m3 m–2 day–1 of the bottom of the aquatic ecosystem
[20, 23].
Additional data on the filtration activity of aquatic
animals are given in ref. [32].
THE MAJOR COMPONENTS
OF THE SELF-PURIFICATION MECHANISM
OF AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
According to a serie of our previous publications,
the biological self-purification mechanism of aquatic
ecosystems incorporates three main types of major
functional components [22, 23]: filtration activity of
organisms (“filters”) [21]; the mechanisms of transfer
of chemicals from one ecological compartment into
another, from one medium into another (“pumps”); and
splitting pollutant molecules (“mills”).
The processes and aquatic organisms that serve as
filters [21, 22, 23]: theinvertebrate filter-feeders [2, 44];
the coastal macrophytes, which retain some nutrients
and pollutants delivered into water from neighboring
areas; the benthos, which retains and absorbs part of
nutrients and pollutants at the water-bottom sediment
interface; the microorganisms adsorbed on particulates
that move within water column due to sedimentation
of particles under the effect of gravity; as a result, the
water mass and microorganisms move relative to one
another, which is equivalent to the situation when water
moves through a porous substrate with microorganisms
attached to the walls [21]. Precipitation of a suspended
particle, that is, its movement relative to water, enhances
O2 exchange between the adsorbed bacteria and the
aquatic medium [50].
The processes and aquatic organisms that serve
as pumps [22, 23]: the transfer of part of the pollut
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RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF GENERAL CHEMISTRY Vol. 80 No. 13 2010
ants from the water column to bottom sediments (e.g.
sedimentation, sorption); the transfer of part of the
pollutants from the water column into the atmosphere
(evaporation); the transfer of part of the nutrients from
water onto the territory of neighboring terrestrial ecosystems
because of the emergence of imago of aquatic
insects; the transfer of part of the nutrients from water
onto the territory of neighboring terrestrial ecosystems
through fish-eating birds, which withdraw some fish
biomass from water.
The processes and aquatic organisms that serve as
mills and split the molecules of many pollutants [22,
23]: the intracellular enzymatic processes; the processes
catalyzed by extracellular enzymes; the decomposition of
the pollutants by photolysis: the photochemical processes,
sensitized by the organic matter; the destruction of pollutants
in the free-radical processes with the participation
of biogenic ligands [42].
ENERGY SOURCES FOR BIOTIC
SELF-PURIFICATION MECHANISMS
OF AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
As all types of machinery, the biomachinery for
water self-purifi cation needs some reliable sources of
energy.
The processes of the biotic self-purification of water
take energy from the following sources: photosynthesis,
oxidation of autochthonous and allochthonous organic
matter; of other redox reactions. Thus, practically all
available energy sources are used. A part of the energy
is supplied through oxidation of the components (dissolved
and particulate organic matter) which the system
gets rid of [34].
Water self-purification is commonly associated
with organic matter oxidation by aerobic microorganisms.
Equally important are anaerobic processes
which receive energy from the transfer of electrons
to acceptors other than oxygen. Anaerobic energetics
feeds the metabolism of microorganisms of methanogenic
community (decomposition of organic matter
results in the production of H2S, H2, and CH4), and
anoxygenic phototrophic community (with the formation
of SO4
2, H2S, H2, and CH4) [50]. The products
produced by organisms of these communities are used
as oxidation substrates by organisms of other communities
including the organisms that form the group
referred to a bacterial oxidation filter. The latter filter
functions under aerobic conditions and oxidizes H2,
CH4 (methanotrophs), NH3(nitrifi ers), H2S (thiobacteria),
thiosulfate (thionic bacteria) [50].
For example, in the lake Mirror (USA) 19.1 g C m2
of the lake surface is oxidized annually due to the phytoplankton
respiration, 12.0 g C m2 is oxidized due to
the zooplankton respiration, 1.0 g C m2 is oxidized
due to the macrophytes, 1.16 g C m2 is oxidized due
to the attached plants, 2.8 g C m2 is oxidized due to
the benthic invertebrates, and 0.2 g C m2 due to the
fish. Oxidation by bacteria in bottom sediments and by
bacterioplankton accounts for 17.3 and 4.9 g C m2 of
the lake surface [49].
INVOLVEMENT OF MAJOR TAXA
IN THE SELF-PURIFICATION IN AQUATIC
ECOSYSTEMS
Analysis of facts demonstrate how practically
all major groups of organisms contribute to the
self-purification of the aquatic ecosystems and to the
formation of the water quality [11, 17, 20, 22, 23, 25–29,
31, 33–38, 49, 50].
A significant role belongs to the microorganisms [8,
46, 50, 44], to the phytoplankton [22, 23], to the higher
plants [22, 23], to the protozoa [11], to the zooplankton
[22, 23, 49], to the benthic invertebrates [22, 23, 49],
and to the fish. All these groups contribute largely to
the self-purification of aquatic ecosystems, each group
taking part in several processes.
Additional data on the role of the aquatic plants were
obtained in experiments with microcosms [12]. It was
shown that the aquatic plants accelerated the decrease in
concentration of a synthetic surfactant, sodium dodecyl
sulphate (SDS) that was added to water. This result was
of interest as synthetic surfactant belonged to an important
group of chemical pollutants of aquatic environment.
Microbial processes of water self-purification are
associated basically with the activity of heterotrophic
aerobic bacteria. However, representatives of practically
all major bacterial groups (>30) participate in
the key processes of organic matter destruction and
self-purification of water bodies [50].
It is worth mentioning that the microorganisms
participating in the destruction of biopolymers and in
water self-purification system feature wide taxonomic
diversity [50]. An important role in organic matter destruction
and self-purification of the aquatic ecosystems
belongs also to the eucaryotic microorganisms (protists),
in particular, to the euglenes, ameboflagellates,
dinoflagellates, infusoria, heteroflagellates, cryptomonades,
choanoflagellates, metamonads, chitrids, and other
organisms [50].
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RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF GENERAL CHEMISTRY Vol. 80 No. 13 2010
An important process of water self purification is
water filtration by organisms of many taxa [2, 15, 22,
23, 44] . A detailed list of taxa including planktonic
and benthic filter-feeders in aquatic ecosystems is given
in paper [37]. The contributions of different groups
of organisms to C removal from water of eutrophic
lake Esrum (Denmark) (% of the total C) withdrawn
from water are as follows: 24.4% by the respiration of
producers, 20.9% by the bacterial respiration, 30.7%
by the respiration of consumers, 4.5% (appears to be
determined not completely) by the respiration of microorganisms
in sediments, 0.14% by the emergence of the
aquatic insects [49].
The results of the analysis of roles of organisms
in the aquatic ecosystems made us to conclude that
virtually all groups of organisms belonging to the procaryotes
and the eucaryotes are involved in the water
self-purification.
THE RELIABILITY OF THE WATER
SELF-PURIFICATION BIOMACHINERY
The reliability of a technical system often relies
on the presence of back-up components. Analysis of
aquatic ecosystems shows a similar principle to govern
their functioning. For example, the filtration activity of
aquatic animals is doubled so that it is implemented
by two large groups of organisms, i.e. plankton and
benthos. Both groups filter water with a considerable
rate [2, 15, 20, 44]. Additionally, benthos duplicates
the activity of the planktonic organisms permanently
inhabiting the pelagic zone, since the larvae of many
benthic filter-feeders follow the planktonic way of life.
Plankton incorporates two large groups of the multicellular
invertebrate filter-feeders, i.e., crustaceans [44]
and rotifers [15], and both of them implement water
filtration. One more large group of the organisms (protozoa),
which have somewhat different type of feeding,
also duplicates the filtration activity of multicellular
filter-feeders (crustaceans and rotifers).
The enzymatic decomposition of pollutants is partially
duplicated by the activities of bacteria and fungi.
Almost all aquatic organisms, which are capable of
consuming and oxidizing dissolved organic matter
perform this function.
Self-regulation of biota is an important component
of the reliability of water self-purification mechanism.
The organisms that take active part in the water
self-purification are the subjects to control by other
organisms of both lower and higher trophic levels
in the food web. The regulating role of organisms
could be effectively studied with the use of the author’s
method of the inhibitor analysis of regulatory
interactions in trophic chains [26, 27].
Various forms of signaling including the information-
carrying chemicals (ecological chemoregulators and
chemomediators [28, 29, 31]) play important role in the
regulation of ecosystems.
Self-control of the water quality, the water
purification and the permanent restoration of its
quality is an important component for the ecosystem
self-stabilization. The restoration of the water
quality is vital for ecosystem stability because the
autochthonous and allochthonous organic matter and
nutrients permanently go into water from the surrounding
land by water of tributaries, atmospheric
precipitation, and the solid particles carried by air
[49] . Therefore, the water self-purification is as
important for an aquatic ecosystem as DNA repair
is valuable for the heredity system. This allows us
to regard the water self-purification as an ecological
repair in aquatic ecosystems.
The wide range of variations in the filtration activity
rates suggests the need to regulate this activity. The
volume of water filtered within one hour and measured
in the body volumes of the filter-feeders amounts to
5×106 for the nanoflagellates and 5×105 for ciliates [49].
Cladocerans filter up from 4–14 ml one organism day1
[49] to 20–130 ml one organism day1 [44]. Copepods
and rotifers filter 2–27 ml one organism day1 [49] and
0.07–0.3 ml one animal day1, respectively [15]. All
these aquatic animals and other filter-feeders remove
suspensions from water.
Thus, all forms of regulation and communication
of organisms within community are of importance for
maintaining the reliability of ecosystem functioning.
The important role in the regulation and communication
in the aquatic communities belongs to dissolved
substances, ecological chemoregulators and chemomediators
[28, 29, 31].
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE
RELIABILITY OF WATER SELF-PURIFICATION
BIOMACHINERY AND AQUATIC
ECOSYSTEM STABILITY
In our opinion, fi ltration activity of fi lter-feeders is
not only a part of the water self-purification process
and water quality repair but also a part of processes
that maintain the stability of the aquatic ecosystem. The
latter is performed through the conditioning of water,
2758 OSTROUMOV
RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF GENERAL CHEMISTRY Vol. 80 No. 13 2010
which serves as a habitat for many other aquatic species,
and “the environmental tax for the environmental
stability” that filter-feeders pay in the form of pellets of
organic material. They filter out these pellet form from
particulate organic matter in the organisms of filterfeeders
(e.g., bivalve mollusks) from water and release
into the environment in the form of ‘lumps’. Pellets precipitate
onto the bed of water bodies or streams. The pellets
are used as food by many other aquatic organisms
including zoobenthos and bacteria. The “environmental
tax” is surprisingly high as compared with the share of
C of the organic matter included in production. In some
cases it can be >100% when calculated as the ratio of
the amount of C not assimilated from the food (that is,
C from fecal and pseudofecal pellets) to the amount of
C consumedand assimilated for production.
The formation of pseudofeces by filter-feeding
bivalves (that is, the process in which part of the
filtered seston does not pass through the digestive tract
of the mollusk but is prepared to the release into the
environment in the form of pellets) begins at rather
low seston concentration. Thus, at the concentration of
seston as low as 2.6 mg l1 (the concentration of seston
is commonly much greater), mollusks marine mussels
Mytilus edulis (shell size 1.7 cm) started releasing
pseudofecal pellets [23]. Therefore, the formation of
pseudofeces is not the result of excessive concentration
of organic matter in the aquatic environment.
The high “environmental tax” is justified because the
filter-feeders will eventually benefit from the high level
of stability of water quality characteristics. The entire
system of water self-purification also benefits from this
because it requires the wide diversity of aquatic species
to maintain its stability.
The aquatic ecosystems serve as one of the most important
regulators of global geochemical cycles (e.g., of
water and C), the stability of which withstands the hazard
of global disturbances. Therefore, the reliability of the
water self-purification biomachinery is of key importance
for the global stability in the biosphere [31].
RESPONSES OF THE ENTIRE BIOMACHINERY
OF THE WATER SELF-PURIFICATION TO
EXTERNAL (ANTHROPOGENIC) IMPACTS ON
THE AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM
Is the rate of functional activity of the biomachinery
of the water self-purifi cation a certain constant?
The author has found an essential element of a
lability in one of the processes involved in water self-
Inhibitory effect of various pollutants on suspension withdrawal from water by fi lter-feeders
Substances Organisms Concentration, mg l–1
TX-100a Unio tumidus 5.0
TDTMAb Crassostrea gigas 0.5
SDSc Mytilus edulis and Mytilus galloprovincialis >1.0
SDS Crassostrea gigas 0.5
Copper sulfate Mytilus galloprovincialis 2.0
Lead nitrate Mytilus galloprovincialis 20.0
LDd “E” Crassostrea gigas 2.0
LD “Fairy” Crassostreagigas 2.0
TDTMA Brac hionus angularis 0.5
TDTMA Brachionus plicatilis 0.5
TDTMA Brachionus calycifl orus 0.5
SDS Daphnia magna [47] 0.5–10
a TX-100 is the non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100. b TDTMA is the cationic surfactant tetradecyl trimethyl ammonium
bromide. c SDS is the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate. d LD is the liquid detergent ([23] and other publications of
the author).
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RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF GENERAL CHEMISTRY Vol. 80 No. 13 2010
purification, i.e., water filtration by aquatic animals
(mollusks and rotifers) [17, 20–23, 25–27, 29–31, 33–39].
In our experiments water filtration was inhibited by
sublethal concentrations of many anthropogenic pollutants,
such as synthetic surfactants, surfactant-containing
mixed preparations, and heavy metals (Table). Other
pollutants were found to have similar effect on mollusks
and planktonic filter-feeders [5, 23].
Recently in the study reported in ref. [47] it was
shown that the synthetic surfactant dodecyl sulphate
has an inhibitory effect on the ability of the planktonic
fi lter-feeders Daphnia magna to remove phytoplankton
from water during their fi ltration activity.
The population biomass of filter-feeders in polluted
aquatic ecosystems decreases, the result of which is an
additional drop in the total filtration activity in such
ecosystems [23].
Therefore, the biomachinery of the water selfpurification
processes and its quality formation is
labile [22, 23, 38] and quickly rearranges to adjust to
changes in the environment. The obtained data demonstrate
the hazard of a decrease in the efficiency of
water self-purification system in the aquatic ecosystems
to anthropogenic impacts (the chemical pollution of
water bodies and streams) [17, 20–23, 25–27, 29, 31,
33–36, 38, 39].
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THIS THEORY AND
THE FUNDAMENTAL ECOLOGICAL CONCEPTS
A key principle in the organization of ecosystems
is the interdependence and mutual usefulness of the
organisms involved. This principle was confirmed
so often that it almost became an axiom and did not
attract particular attention. However, its significance
manifests itself a new way in the analysis of the water
self-purification processes in aquatic ecosystems. The
cooperative functioning of procaryote communities is
only one example. Another example is the high activity
of filter-feeders in removing suspension from water,
during which the amount of suspended organic matter
extracted from water is much greater than it is required
for the organism of the fi lter-feeder [2, 22, 23]. The
environmental significance of suspension removal from
water and pellet formation was analyzed in detail [23].
The assimilation of food by filter-feeders in the laboratory
experiments was 50–60% [15], however, it could
be much lower in nature. Thus, bivalve mollusks marine
mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis (with a biomass of
about 2 g) featured the assimilation that varied within
the year from 4.8 to 51% [23]. In other words,in some
cases >95% of filtered out material was fi nally released
by the mussels in the form of pellets.
In our opinion, the synecological cooperation is one
of the functional principles of the biomachinery of the
water self-purifi cation.
Biocontrol of water quality (the purification of the
aquatic ecosystem) is accompanied by transfer of chemical
substances and their constituents from one location
within the aquatic ecosystem into another. The results
of data analysis support the earlier formulated proposal
that “a competitive unity of the vectorial and stochastic
motion of chemical elements, and the regulation of these
processes based on biological matter exist in the aquatic
ecosystems” [33]. Evidence was also obtained that led to
the conclusion that the following phenomena took place
in aquatic ecosystems: an integration of many organisms
which closely interact and infl uence each other in both
positive and negative ways (we called that “a competitive
unity”); biological-matter-controlled regulation of
cyclic and noncyclic paths of the chemical elements;
the regulation of the transfer of chemical elements
from one phase into another (interphase transfer), and
from one organism into another (organism-to-organism
transfers) [33]. We mean the term “a competitive unity”
as a unity that embraces the components that sometimes
are not friendly to each other and they may compete to
each other. The author emphasizes that the regulation
of many processes of transfer of the chemical elements
in the aquatic ecosystems is biologically and abiotically
controlled, and the roles of both components of that
control — biotic and abiotic — are equally important
and integrated each other. We suggested a special
term that underlines the integrity of both types (biotic
and abiotic) of that control of the transfer of matter.
In Russian language this term is “biokosnyj control”
[33]. The adjective “biokosnyj” was previously used by
V.I. Vernadsky as a part of another word combination,
“biokosnoe veshchestvo”, which means a special type
of the matter that was formed by a combined action of
both biotic and abiotic factors (an example of this type
of the matter is soil).
FROM STUDYING THE BIOMACHINERY OF
WATER PURIFICATION TO COTECHNOLOGIES
We consider the elements of the theory on the biotic
mechanisms of the water purifi cation, which were present
above as a scientifi c basis for better control of water
pollution [51]. The use of aquatic plants is of special
interests among new ecotechnologies. To develop phytotechnologies
we conducted experiments with 5 species
of aquatic plants. Some new results were reported in a
2760 OSTROUMOV
RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF GENERAL CHEMISTRY Vol. 80 No. 13 2010
series of publications [12, 43]. Some previously unknown
quantitative parameters of the tolerance of the aquatic
macrophyte Potamogeton crispus L. to the surfactant
sodium dodecyl sulphate were determined [43]. Aquatic
plants Ceratophyllum demersum induced a removal of
the heavy metals Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb from water [52,
53]. Some other species of plants are currently studied
in our laboratory.
RELEVANCE OF THE CONCEPTS OF BIOTIC
SELF-PURIFICATION OF WATER TO ISSUES OF
WATER QUALITY IN VARIOUS REGIONS
Some of the elements of the theory of involvement
of biota in the self-purifi cation of water that were formulated
above were used in the analysis of issues of
water quality in various regions of the world including
Canada [6]; China [9]; Greece [16], Russia [13], Spain
[7], and USA [45].
The theory of biotic self-purifi cation of water got a
positive evaluation by other experts [10].
We predict that the pressure for having good quality
of water and increasing scarcity of water will lead
fi nding new examples of relevance of the concepts of
biotic and biocoenotic control of water quality. We
predict that new aspects of the key role of organisms
in the control and improvement of water quality both
in freshwater and marine ecosystems will be found,
and new methods of applying organisms and new usages
of them in water decontamination (remediation)
will be described.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. The author thanks V.V.
Ermakov, G.M. Kolesov (Russian Academy of Sciences),
G.E. Shulman, A.A. Soldatov and other colleagues at
the Institute of Biology of Southern seas (Sevastopol,
Crimea, Rusia), S.V. Kotelevtsev, O.M. Gorshkova, A.V.
Klepikova (Moscow State University) for discussions
and help.
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**
**
Sergei Andreevich Ostroumov, Dr. Sci. (Biol.), Leading Researcher,
Laboratory of Physico−Chemistry of Biomembranes,
Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University. Scientifi c
areas of focus: chemico-biological interactions, aquatic ecology,
biochemical ecology.
**
ADDENDUM
Biocontrol of Water Quality: Multifunctional Role of Biota in Water Self-Purification
http://5bio5.blogspot.com/2012/08/biocontrol-of-water-quality.html
**
Reference:
S.A. Ostroumov.
Biocontrol of Water Quality: Multifunctional Role of Biota in Water Self-Purification.-
Russian Journal of General Chemistry, 2010, Vol. 80, No. 13, 2010, pp. 2754–2761.
Full text free:
[this paper was bookmarked by many Internet users]:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227303635_Biocontrol_of_water_quality_Multifunctional_role_of_biota_in_water_self-purification
https://www.academia.edu/782348/S._A._Ostroumov._Biocontrol_of_Water_Quality_Multifunctional_Role_of_Biota_in_Water_Self-Purification.-_Russian_Journal_of_General_Chemistry_2010_Vol._
**
key words:
aquatic, ecosystems, freshwater ecology, marine ecology, theory, self-purification, water quality, water resources, role of organisms, role of biodiversity, water bodies, water streams,
**
© Pleiades Publishing Ltd., 2010. ISSN 1070-3632,
Original Russian Text © S.A. Ostroumov, 2010, published in the journal 'Ekologicheskaya Khimiya', 2010, Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 197–204.
**
Abstract in short:
An innovative theory of ecological mechanisms of self-purification of water in freshwater and marine ecosystems. The theory helps to protect water resources of rivers, lakes, and other water bodies that are important for water supply.
**
Abstract:
The paper presents an updated conceptualization of ecosystem’s biomachinery (a new scientific term that was proposed by the author; it means ecological mechanisms that include biological communities and biodiversity) which improves water quality. The innovative experimental data analysis, concepts, and generalizations in this article provide the fundamental elements of the new qualitative theory of biocontrol of water quality in a systematized form. This theory was put forward in the previous papers of the author. The theory covers water self-purification in freshwater and marine ecosystems. The theory is supported by the results of the author’s experimental studies of the effects exerted by some chemical pollutants including synthetic surfactants, detergents, and other xenobiotics on aquatic organisms. The new fundamental conceptualization provides a basis for remediation of polluted aquatic ecosystems including purification of water bodies and streams, and briefly present the qualitative theory of the self-purification mechanism of aquatic ecosystems, phytoremediation and other types of technologies.
Ostroumov S. A. Biocontrol of Water Quality: Multifunctional Role of Biota in Water Self-Purification. – Russian Journal of General Chemistry, 2010, Vol. 80, No. 13, pp. 2754–2761;
Abstract: http://www.chemeurope.com/en/publications/211554/biocontrol-of-water-quality-multifunctional-role-of-biota-in-water-self-purification.html;
Abstract: http://www.scribd.com/doc/75101299/
Full text:http://www.scribd.com/doc/49131150/;
DOI: 10.1134/S1070363210130086;
**
S. A. Ostroumov
Laboratory of Physico-Chemistry of Biomembranes, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University,
Moscow, 119234 Russia;
Received November 30, 2009;
**
Abstract — The experimental data analysis, concepts, and generalizations in this article provide the fundamental elements of the qualitative theory of biocontrol of water quality in a systematized form. The theory covers water self-purification in freshwater and marine ecosystems. The theory is supported by the results of the author’s experimental studies of the effects exerted by some chemical pollutants including synthetic surfactants, detergents, and other xenobiotics onaquatic organisms. The theory provides a basis for remediation of polluted aquatic ecosystems including purification of water bodies and streams, and briefly present the qualitative theory of the self-purification mechanism of aquatic ecosystems, phytoremediation and other types of technologies.
DOI: 10.1134/S1070363210130086
Text of the paper:
INTRODUCTION
The benefi ts of aquatic resources and proper water
quality are classical examples of ecosystem services.
In 2000 some elements of the theory of the function
of aquatic ecosystems were developed [1]. However,
the role of aquatic biota in the control of water quality
still needed to be covered by a scientifi c analysis, and
enormous amount of relevant data needed to be organized.
Water quality depends on the activities of many
aquatic organisms [2–19].
The role of the ecological factors and processes
that contribute to improving water quality (water
self-purification) increases due to the deterioration of
natural water quality [3, 4, 14, 20] an anthropogenic
impact on water bodies and streams [3, 14, 21–41].
The self-purification of aquatic ecosystems and water
quality formation is controlled by many factors [8, 15,
17, 20–33, 36–38, 42–50].
The aim of this study is to systematize some key segments
of the knowledge about the polyfunctional role of
aquatic biota (aquatic organisms) in the self-purification
of water bodies and streams and to present briefly the
qualitative theory of the self-purification mechanism of
aquatic ecosystems. The synthesis and system-based
organization of the material was made at the conceptual
level without detailed review of extensive literature. This
paper is substantially based on the string of our previous
publications including published in refs. [18, 19, 24,
32, 51] and some others. The article is not a review of
extensive literature in the fi eld, it is an opinion paper
that is an outcome of a multi-year period of experimental
studies and publications by the author.
COMPLEX OF PROCESSES CONTRIBUTING
TO THE WATER QUALITY AND THE WATER
SELF-PURIFICATION IN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
The formation of water quality and its purification in
the aquatic ecosystems is governed by physical, chemical
[42], and biotic [1, 2, 8, 15, 17, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26,
28, 30, 31, 33, 36–38, 42, 46, 49, 50] processes.
The physical and chemical processes of water selfpurification
are often controlled by biological factors
or strongly depend on them. Thus, the redox state of
the aquatic environment, which is formed with the
participation of H2O2 released by microalgae in the
light [23, 42], is of an importance for a decrease in the
toxic effect of some pollutants. The concentration of
H2O2 in the river Volga was found to be equal up to
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RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF GENERAL CHEMISTRY Vol. 80 No. 13 2010
10–6–10–5 mol l–1, which was found by measurements
made by Dr. E.V. Shtamm and other authors [23, 42].
An important process is gravitational sedimentation
of suspended particles both of biotic and abiotic
nature. The sedimentation of phytoplankton depends
on water temperature. The sedimentation velocity
is equal to 0.3–1.5, 0.4–1.7, and 0.4–2.0 m day–1 at
T = 15, 20 and 25C, respectively. According to our
data, the sedimentation velocity of the pellets of Lymnaea
stagnalis varies from 0.6 to 1.4 cm s–1 with a
mean value of 0.82 cm s–1 at T = 22–24°C [23].
Experiments with the traps for suspended particles
showed that the suspended matter precipitates onto the
bed of the river Moskva with a mean rate of 2.3 mg cm–2
of the bed surface, that is, 23.1 g m2 day–1 of the bed
surface. The proportion of Corg (where C is carbon) in
these sediments is 64.5% [40].
Organic matter oxidation and water filtration by
aquatic invertebrate animals (fi lter-feeders) are among
the majorbiotic processes contributing to improve water
quality and water purification.
The overall oxidation of organic matter by the entire
community can be expressed either in absolute or in
relative units, for example, as the ratio of energy expenditure
to the exchange (total respiration R) by aquatic
animals to their total biomass B. This ratio (R/B)e is
referred to as Schroedinger ratio. The subscript “e”
is introduced to show that the estimation is made for
the ecosystem as a whole. In the water bodies where
primary production exceeds the total respiration of the
community this ratio averages 3.0–6.1 [1], but it can
be even greater in some water bodies. For example,
the Schroedinger ratio is 17.0 in the lake Lyubevoe in
the Leningrad province and 33.8 in the lake Zun-Torei
east of the lake Baikal [1]. It is believed that the primary
production in these lakes is much less than the
total respiration, and a large amount of organic matter
delivered from outside is oxidized here.
Many aquatic organisms contribute to organic matter
oxidation but particular role in this oxidation belongs
to bacteria [31]. The total population of heterotrophic
bacterioplankton taken at a depth of 0.1–1.0 m in
the Mozhaisk Reservoir in June and July amounted
to (1.4–5.9) 109, and the population of hydrocarbonoxidizing
bacteria was (0.4–5.0) 106 cell ml–1 [8].
The rate of water filtration (FR) by some aquatic animals
(e.g., zooplankton, barnacles, some echinoderms,
bivalves, polychaetes, sponges and many others) commonly
amounts to 1–9 l h–1 g–1 of ash-free dry mass [22,
23]. The dependence of filtration rate, l h–1, on the mass
of the aquatic animal dry weight of soft tissues (DW, g),
can be described by the power function [2, 23]:
FR = a DWb
The values of a coefficient for some bivalve mollusk
species vary from 6.8 to 11.6, and those of coefficient
b are between 0.66 and 0.92 [23]. The rate of water
filtration by five bivalve mollusk species converted to the
area of their gills is about 1.2–1.9 ml min–1 cm–2 [23].
The total rate of water fi ltration by benthic (bottom-
dwelling) populations of macroinvertebrates
(e.g., bivalve mollusks, polychaetes) was estimated at
1–10 m3 m–2 day–1 of the bottom of the aquatic ecosystem
[20, 23].
Additional data on the filtration activity of aquatic
animals are given in ref. [32].
THE MAJOR COMPONENTS
OF THE SELF-PURIFICATION MECHANISM
OF AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
According to a serie of our previous publications,
the biological self-purification mechanism of aquatic
ecosystems incorporates three main types of major
functional components [22, 23]: filtration activity of
organisms (“filters”) [21]; the mechanisms of transfer
of chemicals from one ecological compartment into
another, from one medium into another (“pumps”); and
splitting pollutant molecules (“mills”).
The processes and aquatic organisms that serve as
filters [21, 22, 23]: theinvertebrate filter-feeders [2, 44];
the coastal macrophytes, which retain some nutrients
and pollutants delivered into water from neighboring
areas; the benthos, which retains and absorbs part of
nutrients and pollutants at the water-bottom sediment
interface; the microorganisms adsorbed on particulates
that move within water column due to sedimentation
of particles under the effect of gravity; as a result, the
water mass and microorganisms move relative to one
another, which is equivalent to the situation when water
moves through a porous substrate with microorganisms
attached to the walls [21]. Precipitation of a suspended
particle, that is, its movement relative to water, enhances
O2 exchange between the adsorbed bacteria and the
aquatic medium [50].
The processes and aquatic organisms that serve
as pumps [22, 23]: the transfer of part of the pollut
2756 OSTROUMOV
RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF GENERAL CHEMISTRY Vol. 80 No. 13 2010
ants from the water column to bottom sediments (e.g.
sedimentation, sorption); the transfer of part of the
pollutants from the water column into the atmosphere
(evaporation); the transfer of part of the nutrients from
water onto the territory of neighboring terrestrial ecosystems
because of the emergence of imago of aquatic
insects; the transfer of part of the nutrients from water
onto the territory of neighboring terrestrial ecosystems
through fish-eating birds, which withdraw some fish
biomass from water.
The processes and aquatic organisms that serve as
mills and split the molecules of many pollutants [22,
23]: the intracellular enzymatic processes; the processes
catalyzed by extracellular enzymes; the decomposition of
the pollutants by photolysis: the photochemical processes,
sensitized by the organic matter; the destruction of pollutants
in the free-radical processes with the participation
of biogenic ligands [42].
ENERGY SOURCES FOR BIOTIC
SELF-PURIFICATION MECHANISMS
OF AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
As all types of machinery, the biomachinery for
water self-purifi cation needs some reliable sources of
energy.
The processes of the biotic self-purification of water
take energy from the following sources: photosynthesis,
oxidation of autochthonous and allochthonous organic
matter; of other redox reactions. Thus, practically all
available energy sources are used. A part of the energy
is supplied through oxidation of the components (dissolved
and particulate organic matter) which the system
gets rid of [34].
Water self-purification is commonly associated
with organic matter oxidation by aerobic microorganisms.
Equally important are anaerobic processes
which receive energy from the transfer of electrons
to acceptors other than oxygen. Anaerobic energetics
feeds the metabolism of microorganisms of methanogenic
community (decomposition of organic matter
results in the production of H2S, H2, and CH4), and
anoxygenic phototrophic community (with the formation
of SO4
2, H2S, H2, and CH4) [50]. The products
produced by organisms of these communities are used
as oxidation substrates by organisms of other communities
including the organisms that form the group
referred to a bacterial oxidation filter. The latter filter
functions under aerobic conditions and oxidizes H2,
CH4 (methanotrophs), NH3(nitrifi ers), H2S (thiobacteria),
thiosulfate (thionic bacteria) [50].
For example, in the lake Mirror (USA) 19.1 g C m2
of the lake surface is oxidized annually due to the phytoplankton
respiration, 12.0 g C m2 is oxidized due to
the zooplankton respiration, 1.0 g C m2 is oxidized
due to the macrophytes, 1.16 g C m2 is oxidized due
to the attached plants, 2.8 g C m2 is oxidized due to
the benthic invertebrates, and 0.2 g C m2 due to the
fish. Oxidation by bacteria in bottom sediments and by
bacterioplankton accounts for 17.3 and 4.9 g C m2 of
the lake surface [49].
INVOLVEMENT OF MAJOR TAXA
IN THE SELF-PURIFICATION IN AQUATIC
ECOSYSTEMS
Analysis of facts demonstrate how practically
all major groups of organisms contribute to the
self-purification of the aquatic ecosystems and to the
formation of the water quality [11, 17, 20, 22, 23, 25–29,
31, 33–38, 49, 50].
A significant role belongs to the microorganisms [8,
46, 50, 44], to the phytoplankton [22, 23], to the higher
plants [22, 23], to the protozoa [11], to the zooplankton
[22, 23, 49], to the benthic invertebrates [22, 23, 49],
and to the fish. All these groups contribute largely to
the self-purification of aquatic ecosystems, each group
taking part in several processes.
Additional data on the role of the aquatic plants were
obtained in experiments with microcosms [12]. It was
shown that the aquatic plants accelerated the decrease in
concentration of a synthetic surfactant, sodium dodecyl
sulphate (SDS) that was added to water. This result was
of interest as synthetic surfactant belonged to an important
group of chemical pollutants of aquatic environment.
Microbial processes of water self-purification are
associated basically with the activity of heterotrophic
aerobic bacteria. However, representatives of practically
all major bacterial groups (>30) participate in
the key processes of organic matter destruction and
self-purification of water bodies [50].
It is worth mentioning that the microorganisms
participating in the destruction of biopolymers and in
water self-purification system feature wide taxonomic
diversity [50]. An important role in organic matter destruction
and self-purification of the aquatic ecosystems
belongs also to the eucaryotic microorganisms (protists),
in particular, to the euglenes, ameboflagellates,
dinoflagellates, infusoria, heteroflagellates, cryptomonades,
choanoflagellates, metamonads, chitrids, and other
organisms [50].
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RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF GENERAL CHEMISTRY Vol. 80 No. 13 2010
An important process of water self purification is
water filtration by organisms of many taxa [2, 15, 22,
23, 44] . A detailed list of taxa including planktonic
and benthic filter-feeders in aquatic ecosystems is given
in paper [37]. The contributions of different groups
of organisms to C removal from water of eutrophic
lake Esrum (Denmark) (% of the total C) withdrawn
from water are as follows: 24.4% by the respiration of
producers, 20.9% by the bacterial respiration, 30.7%
by the respiration of consumers, 4.5% (appears to be
determined not completely) by the respiration of microorganisms
in sediments, 0.14% by the emergence of the
aquatic insects [49].
The results of the analysis of roles of organisms
in the aquatic ecosystems made us to conclude that
virtually all groups of organisms belonging to the procaryotes
and the eucaryotes are involved in the water
self-purification.
THE RELIABILITY OF THE WATER
SELF-PURIFICATION BIOMACHINERY
The reliability of a technical system often relies
on the presence of back-up components. Analysis of
aquatic ecosystems shows a similar principle to govern
their functioning. For example, the filtration activity of
aquatic animals is doubled so that it is implemented
by two large groups of organisms, i.e. plankton and
benthos. Both groups filter water with a considerable
rate [2, 15, 20, 44]. Additionally, benthos duplicates
the activity of the planktonic organisms permanently
inhabiting the pelagic zone, since the larvae of many
benthic filter-feeders follow the planktonic way of life.
Plankton incorporates two large groups of the multicellular
invertebrate filter-feeders, i.e., crustaceans [44]
and rotifers [15], and both of them implement water
filtration. One more large group of the organisms (protozoa),
which have somewhat different type of feeding,
also duplicates the filtration activity of multicellular
filter-feeders (crustaceans and rotifers).
The enzymatic decomposition of pollutants is partially
duplicated by the activities of bacteria and fungi.
Almost all aquatic organisms, which are capable of
consuming and oxidizing dissolved organic matter
perform this function.
Self-regulation of biota is an important component
of the reliability of water self-purification mechanism.
The organisms that take active part in the water
self-purification are the subjects to control by other
organisms of both lower and higher trophic levels
in the food web. The regulating role of organisms
could be effectively studied with the use of the author’s
method of the inhibitor analysis of regulatory
interactions in trophic chains [26, 27].
Various forms of signaling including the information-
carrying chemicals (ecological chemoregulators and
chemomediators [28, 29, 31]) play important role in the
regulation of ecosystems.
Self-control of the water quality, the water
purification and the permanent restoration of its
quality is an important component for the ecosystem
self-stabilization. The restoration of the water
quality is vital for ecosystem stability because the
autochthonous and allochthonous organic matter and
nutrients permanently go into water from the surrounding
land by water of tributaries, atmospheric
precipitation, and the solid particles carried by air
[49] . Therefore, the water self-purification is as
important for an aquatic ecosystem as DNA repair
is valuable for the heredity system. This allows us
to regard the water self-purification as an ecological
repair in aquatic ecosystems.
The wide range of variations in the filtration activity
rates suggests the need to regulate this activity. The
volume of water filtered within one hour and measured
in the body volumes of the filter-feeders amounts to
5×106 for the nanoflagellates and 5×105 for ciliates [49].
Cladocerans filter up from 4–14 ml one organism day1
[49] to 20–130 ml one organism day1 [44]. Copepods
and rotifers filter 2–27 ml one organism day1 [49] and
0.07–0.3 ml one animal day1, respectively [15]. All
these aquatic animals and other filter-feeders remove
suspensions from water.
Thus, all forms of regulation and communication
of organisms within community are of importance for
maintaining the reliability of ecosystem functioning.
The important role in the regulation and communication
in the aquatic communities belongs to dissolved
substances, ecological chemoregulators and chemomediators
[28, 29, 31].
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE
RELIABILITY OF WATER SELF-PURIFICATION
BIOMACHINERY AND AQUATIC
ECOSYSTEM STABILITY
In our opinion, fi ltration activity of fi lter-feeders is
not only a part of the water self-purification process
and water quality repair but also a part of processes
that maintain the stability of the aquatic ecosystem. The
latter is performed through the conditioning of water,
2758 OSTROUMOV
RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF GENERAL CHEMISTRY Vol. 80 No. 13 2010
which serves as a habitat for many other aquatic species,
and “the environmental tax for the environmental
stability” that filter-feeders pay in the form of pellets of
organic material. They filter out these pellet form from
particulate organic matter in the organisms of filterfeeders
(e.g., bivalve mollusks) from water and release
into the environment in the form of ‘lumps’. Pellets precipitate
onto the bed of water bodies or streams. The pellets
are used as food by many other aquatic organisms
including zoobenthos and bacteria. The “environmental
tax” is surprisingly high as compared with the share of
C of the organic matter included in production. In some
cases it can be >100% when calculated as the ratio of
the amount of C not assimilated from the food (that is,
C from fecal and pseudofecal pellets) to the amount of
C consumedand assimilated for production.
The formation of pseudofeces by filter-feeding
bivalves (that is, the process in which part of the
filtered seston does not pass through the digestive tract
of the mollusk but is prepared to the release into the
environment in the form of pellets) begins at rather
low seston concentration. Thus, at the concentration of
seston as low as 2.6 mg l1 (the concentration of seston
is commonly much greater), mollusks marine mussels
Mytilus edulis (shell size 1.7 cm) started releasing
pseudofecal pellets [23]. Therefore, the formation of
pseudofeces is not the result of excessive concentration
of organic matter in the aquatic environment.
The high “environmental tax” is justified because the
filter-feeders will eventually benefit from the high level
of stability of water quality characteristics. The entire
system of water self-purification also benefits from this
because it requires the wide diversity of aquatic species
to maintain its stability.
The aquatic ecosystems serve as one of the most important
regulators of global geochemical cycles (e.g., of
water and C), the stability of which withstands the hazard
of global disturbances. Therefore, the reliability of the
water self-purification biomachinery is of key importance
for the global stability in the biosphere [31].
RESPONSES OF THE ENTIRE BIOMACHINERY
OF THE WATER SELF-PURIFICATION TO
EXTERNAL (ANTHROPOGENIC) IMPACTS ON
THE AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM
Is the rate of functional activity of the biomachinery
of the water self-purifi cation a certain constant?
The author has found an essential element of a
lability in one of the processes involved in water self-
Inhibitory effect of various pollutants on suspension withdrawal from water by fi lter-feeders
Substances Organisms Concentration, mg l–1
TX-100a Unio tumidus 5.0
TDTMAb Crassostrea gigas 0.5
SDSc Mytilus edulis and Mytilus galloprovincialis >1.0
SDS Crassostrea gigas 0.5
Copper sulfate Mytilus galloprovincialis 2.0
Lead nitrate Mytilus galloprovincialis 20.0
LDd “E” Crassostrea gigas 2.0
LD “Fairy” Crassostreagigas 2.0
TDTMA Brac hionus angularis 0.5
TDTMA Brachionus plicatilis 0.5
TDTMA Brachionus calycifl orus 0.5
SDS Daphnia magna [47] 0.5–10
a TX-100 is the non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100. b TDTMA is the cationic surfactant tetradecyl trimethyl ammonium
bromide. c SDS is the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate. d LD is the liquid detergent ([23] and other publications of
the author).
BIOCONTROL OF WATER QUALITY 2759
RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF GENERAL CHEMISTRY Vol. 80 No. 13 2010
purification, i.e., water filtration by aquatic animals
(mollusks and rotifers) [17, 20–23, 25–27, 29–31, 33–39].
In our experiments water filtration was inhibited by
sublethal concentrations of many anthropogenic pollutants,
such as synthetic surfactants, surfactant-containing
mixed preparations, and heavy metals (Table). Other
pollutants were found to have similar effect on mollusks
and planktonic filter-feeders [5, 23].
Recently in the study reported in ref. [47] it was
shown that the synthetic surfactant dodecyl sulphate
has an inhibitory effect on the ability of the planktonic
fi lter-feeders Daphnia magna to remove phytoplankton
from water during their fi ltration activity.
The population biomass of filter-feeders in polluted
aquatic ecosystems decreases, the result of which is an
additional drop in the total filtration activity in such
ecosystems [23].
Therefore, the biomachinery of the water selfpurification
processes and its quality formation is
labile [22, 23, 38] and quickly rearranges to adjust to
changes in the environment. The obtained data demonstrate
the hazard of a decrease in the efficiency of
water self-purification system in the aquatic ecosystems
to anthropogenic impacts (the chemical pollution of
water bodies and streams) [17, 20–23, 25–27, 29, 31,
33–36, 38, 39].
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THIS THEORY AND
THE FUNDAMENTAL ECOLOGICAL CONCEPTS
A key principle in the organization of ecosystems
is the interdependence and mutual usefulness of the
organisms involved. This principle was confirmed
so often that it almost became an axiom and did not
attract particular attention. However, its significance
manifests itself a new way in the analysis of the water
self-purification processes in aquatic ecosystems. The
cooperative functioning of procaryote communities is
only one example. Another example is the high activity
of filter-feeders in removing suspension from water,
during which the amount of suspended organic matter
extracted from water is much greater than it is required
for the organism of the fi lter-feeder [2, 22, 23]. The
environmental significance of suspension removal from
water and pellet formation was analyzed in detail [23].
The assimilation of food by filter-feeders in the laboratory
experiments was 50–60% [15], however, it could
be much lower in nature. Thus, bivalve mollusks marine
mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis (with a biomass of
about 2 g) featured the assimilation that varied within
the year from 4.8 to 51% [23]. In other words,in some
cases >95% of filtered out material was fi nally released
by the mussels in the form of pellets.
In our opinion, the synecological cooperation is one
of the functional principles of the biomachinery of the
water self-purifi cation.
Biocontrol of water quality (the purification of the
aquatic ecosystem) is accompanied by transfer of chemical
substances and their constituents from one location
within the aquatic ecosystem into another. The results
of data analysis support the earlier formulated proposal
that “a competitive unity of the vectorial and stochastic
motion of chemical elements, and the regulation of these
processes based on biological matter exist in the aquatic
ecosystems” [33]. Evidence was also obtained that led to
the conclusion that the following phenomena took place
in aquatic ecosystems: an integration of many organisms
which closely interact and infl uence each other in both
positive and negative ways (we called that “a competitive
unity”); biological-matter-controlled regulation of
cyclic and noncyclic paths of the chemical elements;
the regulation of the transfer of chemical elements
from one phase into another (interphase transfer), and
from one organism into another (organism-to-organism
transfers) [33]. We mean the term “a competitive unity”
as a unity that embraces the components that sometimes
are not friendly to each other and they may compete to
each other. The author emphasizes that the regulation
of many processes of transfer of the chemical elements
in the aquatic ecosystems is biologically and abiotically
controlled, and the roles of both components of that
control — biotic and abiotic — are equally important
and integrated each other. We suggested a special
term that underlines the integrity of both types (biotic
and abiotic) of that control of the transfer of matter.
In Russian language this term is “biokosnyj control”
[33]. The adjective “biokosnyj” was previously used by
V.I. Vernadsky as a part of another word combination,
“biokosnoe veshchestvo”, which means a special type
of the matter that was formed by a combined action of
both biotic and abiotic factors (an example of this type
of the matter is soil).
FROM STUDYING THE BIOMACHINERY OF
WATER PURIFICATION TO COTECHNOLOGIES
We consider the elements of the theory on the biotic
mechanisms of the water purifi cation, which were present
above as a scientifi c basis for better control of water
pollution [51]. The use of aquatic plants is of special
interests among new ecotechnologies. To develop phytotechnologies
we conducted experiments with 5 species
of aquatic plants. Some new results were reported in a
2760 OSTROUMOV
RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF GENERAL CHEMISTRY Vol. 80 No. 13 2010
series of publications [12, 43]. Some previously unknown
quantitative parameters of the tolerance of the aquatic
macrophyte Potamogeton crispus L. to the surfactant
sodium dodecyl sulphate were determined [43]. Aquatic
plants Ceratophyllum demersum induced a removal of
the heavy metals Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb from water [52,
53]. Some other species of plants are currently studied
in our laboratory.
RELEVANCE OF THE CONCEPTS OF BIOTIC
SELF-PURIFICATION OF WATER TO ISSUES OF
WATER QUALITY IN VARIOUS REGIONS
Some of the elements of the theory of involvement
of biota in the self-purifi cation of water that were formulated
above were used in the analysis of issues of
water quality in various regions of the world including
Canada [6]; China [9]; Greece [16], Russia [13], Spain
[7], and USA [45].
The theory of biotic self-purifi cation of water got a
positive evaluation by other experts [10].
We predict that the pressure for having good quality
of water and increasing scarcity of water will lead
fi nding new examples of relevance of the concepts of
biotic and biocoenotic control of water quality. We
predict that new aspects of the key role of organisms
in the control and improvement of water quality both
in freshwater and marine ecosystems will be found,
and new methods of applying organisms and new usages
of them in water decontamination (remediation)
will be described.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. The author thanks V.V.
Ermakov, G.M. Kolesov (Russian Academy of Sciences),
G.E. Shulman, A.A. Soldatov and other colleagues at
the Institute of Biology of Southern seas (Sevastopol,
Crimea, Rusia), S.V. Kotelevtsev, O.M. Gorshkova, A.V.
Klepikova (Moscow State University) for discussions
and help.
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**
**
Sergei Andreevich Ostroumov, Dr. Sci. (Biol.), Leading Researcher,
Laboratory of Physico−Chemistry of Biomembranes,
Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University. Scientifi c
areas of focus: chemico-biological interactions, aquatic ecology,
biochemical ecology.
**
ADDENDUM
