EcoTox LLC, Miami, Florida, USA.
University of Miami, RSMAS, Miami, Florida, USA.
Integr Environ Assess Manag. 2023 Jan;19(1):24-31. doi: 10.1002/ieam.4645. Epub 2022 Jun 22.
Effects-based methods (EBMs) are considered part of a more integrative strategy for regulating substances of concern under the European Union Water Framework Directive. In general, EBMs have been demonstrated as useful indicators of effects on biota, although links to population and community-level effects are sometimes uncertain. When EBMs are sufficiently specific and sensitive, and links between measured endpoints and apical or higher level effects are established, they can be a useful tool in assessing effects from a specific toxicant or class of toxicants. This is particularly valuable for toxicants that are difficult to measure and for assessing the effects of toxicant mixtures. This paper evaluates 12 EBMs that have been proposed for potential use in the assessment of metals. Each EBM was evaluated with respect to metal specificity and sensitivity, sensitivity to other classes of toxicants, and the strength of the relationship between EBM endpoints and effects observed at the whole organism or population levels of biological organization. The evaluation concluded that none of the EBMs evaluated meet all three criteria of being sensitive to metals, insensitive to other classes of toxicants, and a strong indicator of effects at the whole organism or population level. Given the lack of suitable EBMs for metals, we recommended that the continued development of mixture biotic ligand models (mBLMs) may be the most effective way to achieve the goal of a more holistic approach to regulating metals in aquatic ecosystems. Given the need to further develop and validate mBLMs, we suggest an interim weight-of-evidence approach that includes mBLMs, macroinvertebrate community bioassessment, and measurement of metals in key macroinvertebrate species. This approach provides a near-term solution and simultaneously generates data needed for the refinement and validation of mBLMs. Once validated, it should be possible to rely primarily on mBLMs as an alternative to EBMs for metals. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;19:24-31. © 2022 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).
基于效应的方法（EBMs）被认为是欧盟水框架指令下对关注物质进行更综合管理策略的一部分。一般来说，EBMs 已被证明是生物效应的有用指标，尽管与种群和群落水平效应的联系有时并不确定。当 EBMs 足够具体和敏感，并且建立了测量终点与顶端或更高水平效应之间的联系时，它们可以成为评估特定毒物或毒物类别的效应的有用工具。对于难以测量和评估毒物混合物效应的毒物尤其有价值。本文评估了 12 种拟用于金属评估的潜在 EBMs。分别从金属特异性和敏感性、对其他毒物类别的敏感性以及 EBM 终点与生物组织整体或种群水平观察到的效应之间的关系强度等方面对每种 EBM 进行了评估。评估结论是，所评估的 EBMs 均未满足对金属敏感、对其他毒物类不敏感以及是整体或种群水平效应的强指示物这三个标准。鉴于缺乏适合金属的 EBMs，我们建议继续开发混合生物配体模型（mBLMs）可能是实现更全面管理水生生态系统中金属目标的最有效方法。鉴于需要进一步开发和验证 mBLMs，我们建议采用一种临时证据权重方法，该方法包括 mBLMs、大型无脊椎动物群落生物评估以及关键大型无脊椎动物物种中金属的测量。该方法提供了一个近期解决方案，同时生成了改进和验证 mBLMs 所需的数据。一旦经过验证，应该可以主要依赖 mBLMs 作为金属的 EBMs 替代方法。
