Natural Resources, School of
ORCID IDs
Laura Barral-Fraga https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0754-8725
M. T. Barral https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6842-4297
Keeley L. MacNeill https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2822-9598
D. M. Prieto https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1408-4594
Soizic Morin https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0360-9383
María Carolina Rodríguez Castro https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8471-7647
Baigal-Amar Tuulaikhuu https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2506-2593
Helena Guasch https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1264-5346
Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
2020
Citation
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17 (2020), 2331.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17072331
Abstract
This review is focused on the biogeochemistry of arsenic in freshwaters and, especially, on the key role that benthic microalgae and prokaryotic communities from biofilms play together in through speciation, distribution, and cycling. These microorganisms incorporate the dominant iAs (inorganic arsenic) form and may transform it to other arsenic forms through metabolic or detoxifying processes. These transformations have a big impact on the environmental behavior of arsenic because different chemical forms exhibit differences in mobility and toxicity. Moreover, exposure to toxicants may alter the physiology and structure of biofilms, leading to changes in ecosystem function and trophic relations. In this review we also explain how microorganisms (i.e., biofilms) can influence the effects of arsenic exposure on other key constituents of aquatic ecosystems such as fish. At the end, we present two real cases of fluvial systems with different origins of arsenic exposure (natural vs. anthropogenic) that have improved our comprehension of arsenic biogeochemistry and toxicity in freshwaters, the Pampean streams (Argentina), and the Anllóns River (Galicia, Spain). We finish with a brief discussion of what we consider as future research needs on this topic. This work especially contributes to the general understanding of biofilms influencing arsenic biogeochemistry and highlights the strong impact of nutrient availability on arsenic toxicity for freshwater (micro) organisms.
Included in
Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Commons, Geochemistry Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Other Environmental Sciences Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
Comments
Copyright © 2020 Laura Barral-Fraga, María Teresa Barral, Keeley L. MacNeill, Diego Martiñá-Prieto, Soizic Morin, María Carolina Rodríguez-Castro, Baigal-Amar Tuulaikhuu, and Helena Guasch. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).