2015 and has since been extended. The establishment of a standardised suite of in
situ and ex situ feeding assays would provide a realistic monitoring tool and
environmental risk assessment, which would be of benefit to the scientific community, and also decision makers.
6 Summary
Feeding behaviour of freshwater Gammarids has been used for several decades as a
sublethal toxicity endpoint. Feeding behaviour has been demonstrated to be an
effective endpoint, but there is not a standardised assay. This paper aims to review
the existing published literature to highlight the methodological discrepancies in
feeding behavioural studies (both in situ and ex situ). Key discrepancies in the
acclimation period are temperature, duration, media, light/dark cycles and the
characteristics of the test organisms. Interestingly, the food preparation method
and the choice of feeding rate equation are also diverse. Non-standardisation of
any of these factors could influence the outcome of the experiment and render a
comparison between studies difficult. There is an undeniable need for scientific
discussion and agreement on a standardised protocol for feeding behavioural studies,
to ensure that all future studies are directly comparable and to enhance the usefulness
of feeding assays as a biomonitoring tool to assess water quality.
Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the University of Portsmouth, UK, for
funding the research presented in this paper.
References
Adam O, Degiorgi F, Crini G, Badot PM (2010) High sensitivity of Gammarus sp. juveniles to
deltamethrin: outcomes for risk assessment. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 73(6):1402–1407
Agatz A, Brown CD (2014) Variability in feeding of Gammarus pulex: moving towards a more
standardised feeding assay. Environ Sci Eur 26(1):15
Agatz A, Ashauer R, Brown CD (2014) Imidacloprid perturbs feeding of Gammarus pulex at
environmentally relevant concentrations. Environ Toxicol Chem 33(3):648–653
Alonso Á, De Lange HJ, Peeters ETHM (2009) Development of a feeding behavioural bioassay
using the freshwater amphipod Gammarus pulex and the multispecies freshwater biomonitor.
Chemosphere 75(3):341–346
Andrén CM, Eriksson Wiklund A-K (2013) Response of Gammarus pulex and Baetis rhodani to
springtime acid episodes in humic brooks. Sci Total Environ 463–464:690–699
Arsuffi TL, Suberkropp K (1989) Selective feeding by shredders on leaf-colonizing stream fungi:
comparison of macroinvertebrate taxa. Oecologia 79(1):30–37
Ashauer R, Caravatti I, Hintermeister A, Escher BI (2010) Bioaccumulation kinetics of organic
xenobiotic pollutants in the freshwater invertebrate Gammarus pulex modeled with prediction
intervals. Environ Toxicol Chem 29(7):1625–1636
Baldy V, Gessner MO, Chauvet E (1995) Bacteria, fungi and the breakdown of leaf litter in a large
river. Oikos 74(1):93–102
Feeding Behavioural Studies with Freshwater Gammarus spp.: The. . .
37
situ and ex situ feeding assays would provide a realistic monitoring tool and
environmental risk assessment, which would be of benefit to the scientific community, and also decision makers.
6 Summary
Feeding behaviour of freshwater Gammarids has been used for several decades as a
sublethal toxicity endpoint. Feeding behaviour has been demonstrated to be an
effective endpoint, but there is not a standardised assay. This paper aims to review
the existing published literature to highlight the methodological discrepancies in
feeding behavioural studies (both in situ and ex situ). Key discrepancies in the
acclimation period are temperature, duration, media, light/dark cycles and the
characteristics of the test organisms. Interestingly, the food preparation method
and the choice of feeding rate equation are also diverse. Non-standardisation of
any of these factors could influence the outcome of the experiment and render a
comparison between studies difficult. There is an undeniable need for scientific
discussion and agreement on a standardised protocol for feeding behavioural studies,
to ensure that all future studies are directly comparable and to enhance the usefulness
of feeding assays as a biomonitoring tool to assess water quality.
Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the University of Portsmouth, UK, for
funding the research presented in this paper.
References
Adam O, Degiorgi F, Crini G, Badot PM (2010) High sensitivity of Gammarus sp. juveniles to
deltamethrin: outcomes for risk assessment. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 73(6):1402–1407
Agatz A, Brown CD (2014) Variability in feeding of Gammarus pulex: moving towards a more
standardised feeding assay. Environ Sci Eur 26(1):15
Agatz A, Ashauer R, Brown CD (2014) Imidacloprid perturbs feeding of Gammarus pulex at
environmentally relevant concentrations. Environ Toxicol Chem 33(3):648–653
Alonso Á, De Lange HJ, Peeters ETHM (2009) Development of a feeding behavioural bioassay
using the freshwater amphipod Gammarus pulex and the multispecies freshwater biomonitor.
Chemosphere 75(3):341–346
Andrén CM, Eriksson Wiklund A-K (2013) Response of Gammarus pulex and Baetis rhodani to
springtime acid episodes in humic brooks. Sci Total Environ 463–464:690–699
Arsuffi TL, Suberkropp K (1989) Selective feeding by shredders on leaf-colonizing stream fungi:
comparison of macroinvertebrate taxa. Oecologia 79(1):30–37
Ashauer R, Caravatti I, Hintermeister A, Escher BI (2010) Bioaccumulation kinetics of organic
xenobiotic pollutants in the freshwater invertebrate Gammarus pulex modeled with prediction
intervals. Environ Toxicol Chem 29(7):1625–1636
Baldy V, Gessner MO, Chauvet E (1995) Bacteria, fungi and the breakdown of leaf litter in a large
river. Oikos 74(1):93–102
Feeding Behavioural Studies with Freshwater Gammarus spp.: The. . .
37