ICES Techniques in Marine Environmental Scienceshttps://repository.oceanbestpractices.org/handle/11329/6642024-03-28T10:29:26Z2024-03-28T10:29:26ZBiological monitoring: General guidelines for quality assurance.https://repository.oceanbestpractices.org/handle/11329/7232019-08-29T10:08:16Z2004-01-01T00:00:00ZBiological monitoring: General guidelines for quality assurance.
Rees, H.
These guidelines have been prepared by the ICES/OSPAR Steering Group on Quality Assurance of Biological Measurements in the Northeast Atlantic (SGQAE), as part of its role to encourage the production of biological data of consistent quality by member countries.
The biological measures covered are: chlorophyll a, phytoplankton, macrozoobenthos, and macrophytobenthos, reflecting the initial remit of the Steering Group to address eutrophication- related studies according to the specifications of the OSPAR Joint Assessment and Monitoring Programme (JAMP). Tables of critical quality assurance (QA) factors and priority QA actions for these measures are presented. However, the guidelines for developing effective QA/AQC (analytical quality control) procedures governing field and laboratory work will be found to have a more general relevance to laboratories engaged in biological studies in the marine environment.
QA guidelines are presented across the full range of monitoring activities, i.e., from the objective-setting and sampling design stages of field surveys, to the generation, analysis, and archiving of data. Attention to all these activities is necessary in order to ensure the production of good quality information that continues to meet the purpose of scientific assessments.
In the preparation of these guidelines, every effort has been made to ensure compatibility with the recently revised ICES/HELCOM guidelines contained in the HELCOM Cooperative Monitoring in the Baltic Marine Environment (COMBINE) manual, and there has been free exchange of drafts between the respective QA Steering Groups.
Where possible, illustrative examples of good practice in relation to QA of biological measures are included, to aid in practical applications of the guidelines document, and to provide an indication of the likely direction of future QA developments for biological studies.
2004-01-01T00:00:00ZBiological effects of contaminants: Radioimmunoassay (RIA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) techniques for the measurement of marine fish vitellogenins.Scott, A. P.Hylland, K.https://repository.oceanbestpractices.org/handle/11329/7222019-08-29T10:08:15Z2002-01-01T00:00:00ZBiological effects of contaminants: Radioimmunoassay (RIA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) techniques for the measurement of marine fish vitellogenins.
Scott, A. P.; Hylland, K.
This document describes immunochemical methods to quantify the egg-yolk precursor protein vitellogenin in fish plasma. Vitellogenin is normally produced by the liver of mature female fish in response to 17β-oestradiol (E2) in the blood. If male or reproductively immature fish are exposed to oestrogenic substances, either in the water or the diet, their livers will also be stimulated to produce vitellogenin. Concentrations of vitellogenin in the plasma of induced and uninduced fish can differ by a factor of between 106 and 107. This makes vitellogenin induction in male and immature fish a very good biomarker for environmental oestrogens. All necessary steps in the development of both RIA (radioimmunoassay) and ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) are described, as are special precautions that need to be considered during the analysis of this protein.
2002-01-01T00:00:00ZChlorophyll a: Determination by spectroscopic methods.Aminot, AlainRey, Franciscohttps://repository.oceanbestpractices.org/handle/11329/7212019-08-29T10:08:15Z2001-01-01T00:00:00ZChlorophyll a: Determination by spectroscopic methods.
Aminot, Alain; Rey, Francisco
Chlorophyll a is the principal pigment in plants. As a biomass indicator of aquatic microalgae which support food webs in the sea, it is probably the most frequently measured biochemical parameter in oceanography.
This document describes a procedure for the routine determination of chlorophyll a in sea water for use by ICES Member Countries. It has been developed from a review of current methodology for measuring chlorophyll a undertaken by the Working Group on Phytoplankton Ecology (WGPE) and the Marine Chemistry Working Group (MCWG). This work was led by A. Aminot (MCWG) and F. Rey (WGPE) and both groups based their discussions around a recently published work on this topic (Jeffrey, Mantoura, and Wright, 1997). The present document represents the consensus between the two groups.
This document draws attention to critical points of chlorophyll a determination and reviews recommendations concerning the use of this pigment as a biomass marker. In addition, it proposes a standard procedure for chlorophyll a determination. Although many points in the procedure can apply to any other method, the document is devoted to the determination of chlorophyll a in discrete samples, after extraction and spectroscopic measurement of the pigments.
It is not presently possible or desirable to recommend a single method for measuring chlorophyll a in seawater samples. Instead, a procedure incorporating three spectroscopic analytical methods is proposed. Apart from these alternatives, all other steps in the procedure are similar.
2001-01-01T00:00:00ZBiological effects of contaminants: Sediment bioassay using the polychaete Arenicola marina.Thain, J.Bifield, S.https://repository.oceanbestpractices.org/handle/11329/7202019-08-29T10:08:15Z2001-01-01T00:00:00ZBiological effects of contaminants: Sediment bioassay using the polychaete Arenicola marina.
Thain, J.; Bifield, S.
The method described here is a whole-sediment reworker bioassay using the polychaete Arenicola marina, a direct deposit feeder that is widely distributed in European coastal waters and on the east coast of North America. This method has been tested nationally in the UK as well as in ring tests under the Paris Commission. It is suitable for carrying out bioassays on field-collected sediments and also for toxicity testing. Bioassay endpoints include both mortality and a non-lethal indication of effect (inhibition of casting).
2001-01-01T00:00:00ZBiological effects of contaminants: Corophium sp. sediment bioassay and toxicity test.Roddie, B. D.Thain, J. E.https://repository.oceanbestpractices.org/handle/11329/7192019-08-29T10:08:15Z2001-01-01T00:00:00ZBiological effects of contaminants: Corophium sp. sediment bioassay and toxicity test.
Roddie, B. D.; Thain, J. E.
The method described here is a whole-sediment reworker bioassay using burrowing amphipods. This method description covers the use of Corophium spp., as this is the genus most commonly used in Europe, but the procedure can be used with any infaunal amphipod. This method has been tested nationally in the UK as well as in ring tests under the Paris Commission. It is suitable for carrying out bioassays on field-collected sediments and also for toxicity testing. The bioassay endpoint is mortality.
2001-01-01T00:00:00ZSoft bottom macrofauna: Collection, treatment, and quality assurance of samples.Rumohr, H.https://repository.oceanbestpractices.org/handle/11329/7182019-08-29T10:08:14Z1999-01-01T00:00:00ZSoft bottom macrofauna: Collection, treatment, and quality assurance of samples.
Rumohr, H.
The aim of these recommendations is to standardize the methods used by different scientists for benthos surveys in order to increase the comparability of results for different areas.
The results of ICES/HELCOM Quality Assurance workshops, intercalibrations, and ring tests have been incorporated in this set of recommendations in order to increase the quality, reliability and, thus, comparability of benthos data at a time when an increasing number of researchers and institutions are engaged in sorting and analysing benthos samples before their final evaluation and the storage of information in public data banks. The choice of an appropriate sampler depends on the average living depth of the infauna in question, which can range from the upper millimetre down to almost one metre. Possible discrepancies between the penetration depth of the sampler and the actual living depth must be considered when analysing the results. This set of recommendations covers all steps from the design of the sampling programme to considerations of which gear to use, and all ship-board methods such as sampling with grabs, corers, dredges, and trawls. There is no single standard sampling gear for benthos investigations. The choice of a suitable sampler is a compromise between specific sampling characteristics in different sediment regimes in the area to be sampled, good handling characteristics at sea in bad weather conditions, suitability for various ships, financial limitations, tradition, and scientific questions. Criteria for the rejection of samples are identified. Treatment of samples is described in detail including sieving, transfer of the sample to the sample vessel, fixation, staining, and labelling, followed by a description of laboratory procedures such as sorting, taxonomic identification, and biomass determinations. A list of items for in-house quality assurance is included together with diagrams of suitable sieving devices and details for a warp-rigged Van Veen grab.
1999-01-01T00:00:00ZBiological effects of contaminants: Measurement of DNA adducts in fish by 32P-postlabelling.Reichert, W. L.French, B. L.Stein, J. E.https://repository.oceanbestpractices.org/handle/11329/7172019-08-29T10:08:14Z1999-01-01T00:00:00ZBiological effects of contaminants: Measurement of DNA adducts in fish by 32P-postlabelling.
Reichert, W. L.; French, B. L.; Stein, J. E.
This document describes in detail the 32P-postlabelling method and its application to fish. Several recent studies have shown that the 32P-postlabelling method can be used to detect and measure the levels of DNA modified by large, hydrophobic aromatic compounds in teleosts. Moreover, the levels of hepatic DNA adducts in wild fish positively correlate with the concentrations of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) present in marine sediments in several cases, and a strong positive correlation has been observed between sediment concentrations of PACs and the prevalence of neoplastic lesions in liver of marine flatfish. Laboratory studies with model PACs and sediment extracts also have shown that the PAC-DNA adducts formed are persistent and have chromatographic characteristics similar to DNA adducts detected in wild fish. These findings suggest that the levels of hepatic DNA adducts found in fish tissues can function as molecular dosimeters of exposure to potentially genotoxic environmental contaminants, such as high molecular weight PACs. The 32P-postlabelling assay has been used as a marker of exposure to potentially genotoxic contaminants in environmental monitoring studies, such as NOAA's National Status and Trends (NS&T) Program and in the Bioeffects Surveys of NOAA's Coastal Ocean Program.
1999-01-01T00:00:00ZBiological effects of contaminants: Quantification of metallothionein (MT) in fish liver tissue.Hylland, K.https://repository.oceanbestpractices.org/handle/11329/7162019-08-29T10:08:14Z1999-01-01T00:00:00ZBiological effects of contaminants: Quantification of metallothionein (MT) in fish liver tissue.
Hylland, K.
This document describes methods to analyse the protein metallothionein in fish tissues. Metallothionein is induced by and binds essential (Cu, Zn) and non-essential (Cd, Hg) metals and is used in monitoring programmes as a marker for environmental metal exposure. The main focus is on the use and development of immunochemical procedures (ELISA). In addition, two alternative methods, electrochemical and spectrophotometric, are described.
1999-01-01T00:00:00ZBiological effects of contaminants: Use of imposex in the dogwhelk (Nucella lapillus) as a bioindicator of tributyltin pollution.Gibbs, P. E.https://repository.oceanbestpractices.org/handle/11329/7152019-08-29T10:08:14Z1999-01-01T00:00:00ZBiological effects of contaminants: Use of imposex in the dogwhelk (Nucella lapillus) as a bioindicator of tributyltin pollution.
Gibbs, P. E.
This document describes a method for detecting contamination of the marine environment by tributyltin (TBT) using a sensitive neogastropod, the dogwhelk Nucella lapillus (L.), as a bioindicator. Exposure of female N. lapillus to TBT induces masculinization; this induction of masculinization has been termed 'imposex'. The indices that have been employed to measure imposex in N. lapillus are described here, together with a brief account of the biology of this organism.
1999-01-01T00:00:00ZBiological effects of contaminants: Determination of CYP1A-dependent mono-oxygenase activity in dab by fluorimetric measurement of EROD activity.Stagg, R.McIntosh, A.https://repository.oceanbestpractices.org/handle/11329/7142019-08-29T10:08:13Z1998-01-01T00:00:00ZBiological effects of contaminants: Determination of CYP1A-dependent mono-oxygenase activity in dab by fluorimetric measurement of EROD activity.
Stagg, R.; McIntosh, A.
1998-01-01T00:00:00Z