Effects on Biomarkers in Stress Ecology Studies. Well, So What? What Now?

Abstract

Effects assessed at higher levels of biological organization (populations and communities) are the consequence of the sum of effects on individuals, which usually result from impacts at cellular and molecular levels. Given this rationale, these lower levels of biological organization are more responsive at an early stage, making them potential resources that can be used as early warning endpoints to address environmental stress. In this way, the information concerning effects at the molecular level of biological organization (e.g., transcripts, proteins, or metabolites) allows for an early assessment of future ecosystem problems, which may eventually enable a timely intervention before the impacts become visible and irreversible. However, despite providing an early warning and a better understanding of the toxicity mechanisms, enabling the protection of biological integrity, the most significant setback is that these endpoints may fail to foresee later impacts on the environment due to the ecosystem resilience or a weak link to the effects in the following level of biological organization, making these tools simply too conservative for stakeholders’ interests. Hence, an approach targeting lower levels of biological organization will greatly benefit from addressing potential effects at higher levels. This can be achieved by establishing a link in biological organization, where the effects assessed at the lower end of biological organization are linked with the high probability of causing an effect at the other end, inducing changes in populations and communities, and eventually altering ecosystems in the future.