Use of in situ ecotoxicological biotests for an effect-based assessment of chemical contaminations in continental waterbodies: the Gammarus story

Abstract

Complementary to the active biomonitoring of chemical contamination levels of water bodies, the INRAE-OFB partnership initiated about ten years ago has brought to the operational sphere the first in situ bioassays that allow evaluating the toxicity of watercourses at a national scale. Accompanied by interpretation grids, these biological tools based on the effects of chemical contaminant cocktails on caged gammarids are now standardized, deployed at the scale of WFD networks and allow managers to advance in the identification of toxic pressures relying on continental aquatic ecosystems.