Biochemical indicators used in ecological monitoring of surface waters

Abstract

The work is devoted to the search for promising test systems for ecological monitoring of surface waters by comparing the effectiveness of detecting low concentrations of various types of pesticides in the aquatic environment by traditional morphological and biochemical research methods. Allium cepa L. and the hydatophyte plant Elodea canadensis Michx. were used as test objects because it is immersed in the aquatic environment during its entire life cycle and is in the most complete contact with all the toxicants present in the water. It was found that the traditionally used test reactions of plants cannot always reflect a potentially dangerous exceedance of the MPC of toxicants in the aquatic environment. The possibility of using catalase activity as a sensitive bioassay for the presence of low concentrations of herbicides with different mechanisms of action in the water environment was investigated. Correlation analysis has been conducted, and Pearson's coefficients have been calculated to quantify the relationship between the concentration of herbicides present in water and the degree of manifestation of test reactions by the research objects. The highest level of correlation between the increase in the concentration of herbicides in water and the test reactions of elodea was demonstrated by biochemical indicators, and the higher significance of the correlation was observed at 4-day exposure of plants in the presence of the herbicide.