MFB - Multispecies Freshwater Biomonitor

Introduction

Accidents in chemical industries, oil spills, trouble cases in waste water purification plants happen unpredictably but rather often. The consequences for aquatic ecosystems might be dramatic.The international legislation sharpens (Agenda 21, Purity directives, Water Quality Guidelines) and requires intensified control and monitoring of surface and ground water including their catchments with the aim of avoidance and minimisation of pollution.Biological Early Warning Systems (BEWS) register continuously sensitive stress responses (behaviour, physiology) of selected indicator species in order to immediately detect pollution waves.

Principle

Quadropole impedance conversion technique based on the animal functioning as resistant in an alternating current between electrodes at opposite walls of the test chamber. Movements of the animal change the conductivity and the electrical field between a second, non-current carrying pair of electrodes and generate specific electrical signals for different kinds of behaviour.

Test chambers

The test chambers are flow-through systems with the two electrode pairs placed at the chamber walls. The size, the addition of sediment, the electrode configuration etc. can be varied according to the kind of test species and behaviour to be studied, the time of exposure and number of animals per chamber.

Test organisms

All kinds of aquatic organisms, from Protozoa to fish can be applied in the MFB in specifically constructed test chambers.