3 INNOVATIVE STEPS IN ECOLOGY, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, WATER SAFETY. Explanation

Review and explanation of 3 Innovations IN ECOLOGY, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, WATER SAFETY (with references, links to full texts of the papers, many pictures). 

Tags: innovations, ECOLOGY, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, WATER SAFETY, toxicology,  ecotoxicology, surfactants, detergents, filter-feeders, water, filtration, self-purification, water quality, sublethal, aquatic, ecosystem, hazards, pollution, purification,discoveries

This review of a series of publications on aquatic ecology and environmental / aquatic ecotoxicology was published by an independent reviewer:
http://5bio5.blogspot.com/2014/06/3-innovative-steps-in-ecology.html

A series of reviews of scientific articles was published recently [1]. These reviews explained new discoveries in ecology.
Three important innovations were made in ecology and  the last years of  the 1990s and in the first yours after 2000.
These innovations were made in the series of scientific publications, starting with [2]. The results of the paper [2] were confirmed and extended in [3-12].

These are the three discoveries / innovations in the publications [2-12].
(1) Synthetic surfactants and detergents pose more environmental hazards than it was thought before.
(2) Sublethal concentrations of chemical pollutants (sublethal = less than lethal, less than killing concentrations) pose more environmental hazard than it was thought before.
(3) Chemical pollutants (such as surfactants, detergents) may decrease the very important function of aquatic ecosystems: namely, the pollutants may decrease the process of water purification by living organisms in the water.
On the basis of the new facts [2-12], a Fulbright award winning researcher, Dr. Sergei Ostroumov, formulated a new productive theory of the multi-functional role of organisms in improving water quality and water self-purification [13, 14].

The innovations number 2 and 3 of the three innovations (listed above) are fundamentally and conceptually important, they change the philosophy of modern science. These innovations change the current principles of environmental toxicology and ecotoxicology. The current science of environmental toxicology is based on the prevalence of interest to lethal effects (killing effects). In other words, the most important thing in traditional ecotoxicology is finding a lethal (killing) effect of the chemical on the organism. Until the landmark publications [2-12], there were two most things in ecotoxicology: (1) whether the chemical kills some organisms, and (2) at which concentration the chemical kills the organism under study. The new results [2-12] completely change this traditional dogma. A new era started in ecotoxicology. It follows from [2-12] that even much less toxic chemicals at much smaller concentrations are very dangerous to the ecosystems. It follows that much more attention must be given and  will be given to sublethal effects of chemical pollutants in future.

This explanation makes it clear that the new publications [2-14] make a real useful and innovative addition to scientific knowledge, to fundamental science. These publications are really useful to practice of preventing and mitigation the chemical pollution of freshwater and marine ecosystems. These publications were ahead of their time, they will be cited in future more and more.

All of these results – the three innovations listed above and the theory of ecosystem-driven self-purification of water  - are vital and essential to progress in ecology, environmental science, water science, aquatic toxicology, ecotoxicology.

Explanation of terminology in titles of some of these publications.
Surfactants:
surfactants are a broad class of organic chemicals that are key components of all detergents, liquid soaps, washing liquids, and shampoos, and therefore they pollute water in huge quantities;
'Mytilus edulis':
'Mytilus edulis' is the scientific Latin name for a common species of marine mollusks (mussels) that are one of most popular seafood. The pictures of this mollusks, Mytilus edulis , are given at the end of this text.
'Unio tumidus':
'Unio tumidus' is a common freshwater bivalve mollusk. This mollusk filter water to get food (plankton and small organic particles) and oxygen from water. The picture of this mollusks, Unio tumidus , is given at the end of this text.

REFERENCES.

1. Reviews of 24 useful publications, ecology, environmental safety, water quality improvement.
24 short reviews (favorable) of useful publications, ecology, environmental science, water, ecotoxicology; at World Catalog, the biggest globally library catalog. The reviews are authored by an independent expert in ecology, environmental science. Tags / key words: reviews, useful, publications, ecology, environmental, water, ecotoxicology, environment, surfactants, World Catalog, Library of Congress,
http://5bio5.blogspot.com/2014/06/24-short-reviews-of-useful-publications.html

2. S.A.Ostroumov, Donkin P., Staff F. Filtration inhibition induced by two classes of synthetic surfactants in the bivalve mollusk Mytilus edulis. - Doklady Biological Sciences, 1998. Vol. 362, P. 454-456; in English [ ISSN 0012-4966;  Distributed by Springer,  orderdept@springer-sbm.com] ; http://www.citeulike.org/user/ATP/article/9750739 ;  Review of this paper: 5bio5.blogspot.com/2014/06/worldcat-review-of-paper-filtration.html ; 


3. Effect of Amphiphilic Chemicals on Filter-Feeding Marine Organisms ; full text free:
https://www.google.ru/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCgQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.researchgate.net%2Fpublication%2F10614314_Effect_of_amphiphilic_chemicals_on_filter-feeding_marine_organisms&ei=VHmVU_6sLeT4ygP8zID4Bw&usg=AFQjCNFtNXW7J4_k5eS_LMFPHOEoaxHH2A&bvm=bv.68445247,d.bGQ

4. Imbalance of Factors Providing Control of Unicellular Plankton Populations Exposed to Anthropogenic Impact .


10. Responses of Unio tumidus  to Mixed Chemical Preparations and the Hazard of Synecological Summation of Anthropogenic Effects. [Explanation: Unio tumidus is a common freshwater bivalve mollusk. This mollusk filter water to get food (plankton and small organic particles) and oxygen from water. The picture of this mollusks, Unio tumidus , is given at the end of this text.]
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259579828_Article_published_Responses_of_Unio_tumidus_to_mixed_chemical_preparations_and_the_hazard_of_synecological_summation_of_anthropogenic_effects

11. Biodiversity Protection and Quality of Water: The Role of Feedbacks in Ecosystems
English abstract and full English text of the English version of this article:

English abstract of the Russian version of this  paper: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259497389_Biodiversity_protection_and_water_quality_the_role_of_feedbacks_in_ecosystems ;

12.  [book] Biological Effects of Surfactants. CRC Press. Taylor & Francis. Boca Raton, London, New York. 2006. 279 p., tab. Bibliogr. on pages 203-243 and 250-253. Subject Index: p.255-279.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/200637626_Biological_Effects_of_Surfactants;

13.  On the Biotic Self-purification of Aquatic Ecosystems: Elements of the Theory. - Doklady Biological Sciences. v.396, No.1-6; pp. 206- 211. 
14.  Polyfunctional role of biodiversity in processes leading to water purification: current conceptualizations and concluding remarks.  Hydrobiologia, 2002; 469: 203-204. DOI:10.1023/A:1015555022737 ;

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/200582742_Ostroumov_S.A._Polyfunctional_role_of_biodiversity_in_processes_leading_to_water_purification_current_conceptualizations_and_concluding_remarks;

Pictures.
General picture of a mollusk that filter water:

Marine mussels,




Freshwater mussels, the mollusk Unio tumidus:



Cover the book, one of publications on the list of references:


Cooked dish - mollusks as a high quality seafood:

this  was mentioned at the Facebook web page of 
Ernst Mayr Library, Harvard University (U.S.A.); https://www.facebook.com/ernstmayrlib?ref=ts&fref=ts ;

Oxford University (U.K.), https://www.facebook.com/OxUniEarthSci?ref=ts&fref=ts

Tsinghua University:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tsinghua-University/282900288425063?fref=nf