You are here:
GROUP REPORT: PHYSIOLOGICAL AND ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ACIDIFICATION ON AQUATIC BIOTA
Citation:
Baker, J., D. Brakke, J. Bohmer, A. Hartmann, M. Harvas, A. Jenkins, C. Kelly, S. Ormenrod, T. Paces, R. Putz, B. Rosseland, D. Schindler, AND H. Segner. GROUP REPORT: PHYSIOLOGICAL AND ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ACIDIFICATION ON AQUATIC BIOTA. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/A-94/158 (NTIS PB94210663), 1994.
Description:
Acidification affects all components of biological communities in lakes and streams: microbes, algae, macrophytes, invertebrates, fish, amphibians, and other vertebrates that rely on aquatic ecosystems for habitat or food. echanisms of effect are both direct (toxic responses to changes in chemistry) and indirect (e.g., expressed through the food chain or caused by changes in habitat) , and the responses may be immediate or delayed. n turn, many biological processes, especially microbial processes, can influence surface water acid-base chemistry. hus, chemical and biological changes are intricately linked and complex, with extensive feedbacks. esearch on the effects of acid deposition and acidification on aquatic biota has been ongoing in Europe and North America for over the last 15 years, and many comprehensive reviews have been published. ven though research has been conducted in several areas and it has concerned many different organisms, it has not been exhaustive and there are gaps in our understanding of the response of organisms to acidic conditions. hese gaps often have occurred because funding has focused on chemical mechanisms and modeling response of systems rather than in making resource inventories or resolving uncertainties in biological responses to acidification. n addition, research has been conducted piece-meal, and coordinated regional studies at varying scales have been few. he objective of this study was not to detail current understanding or to provide a complete analysis of published information but rather to summarize some aspects of what is known, consider emerging research findings, to highlight remaining uncertainties, and evaluate needs for future research.