The aim of the present study was assessment sub-chronic effects silver (AgNPs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) 40 nm primary size either stabilised with citrate (CIT) or coated polyethylene glycol (PEG) on freshwater invertebrate Gammarus fossarum. Silver nitrate (AgNO3) used as a positive control in order to contribution ions potentially released from AgNPs observed effects. A multibiomarker ap...

Abstract Background Several biomarkers developed from freshwater sentinel species are used to complement chemical assessment of ecosystems and improve the evaluation their contamination levels. While active biomonitoring strategies allow compare biological data in field, lack criteria interpret modulations restricts application surveys. For this purpose, determination threshold values emerges a...

Here, we relate the ongoing taxonomic story of a species complex of problematic, cryptic Australian freshwater shrimp (Atyidae; Caridina) to highlight the relative strength and utility of different taxonomic methods in assessing species boundaries. We used popular 'DNA barcode' gene fragments cytochrome c oxidase 1 and 16S ribosomal DNA. We then assessed the morphological attributes of these sp...

We investigated phylogenetic relationships among pond skaters (Heteroptera: Gerridae) of the genus Limnogonus Stål 1868 by performing separate and combined parsimony analyses of DNA sequences from three mitochondrial (COI+II, 16SrRNA) and one nuclear (28SrRNA) gene(s). The taxon sample represented almost two thirds of the known diversity, and with most taxa represented by two or more individual...

Shared parasites can strongly influence the outcome of competition between congeneric, sympatric hosts, and thus host population dynamics. Parasite-mediated competition is commonly hypothesized as an important factor in biological invasion success; invasive species often experience lower infection levels and/or parasite-induced mortality than native congeneric hosts. However, variation in infec...

Sediments are considered as a sink for metals, and the assessment of metal bioavailability for benthic organisms represents a great challenge. Diffusive Gradient in Thin films (DGT), developed to measure labile metals in aquatic media, have more recently been applied to sediment. Nevertheless, few studies have determined the relation between measurements from DGT and bioaccumulation in differen...