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BIOMONITORING
Biomonitoring is the measurement of effects of pollutants on natural aquatic test organisms ranging from bacteria to fish. Effects include mortality, growth inhibition, cancers and tumours, genetic alteration and reproductive failure. Effects can also be measured in the field by measuring species diversity. Biomonitoring also includes the measurement of pollutants that are accumulated in tissue and other organs of biological organisms.Increasingly, water quality agencies are using a combination of standard chemistry and biomonitoring to improve understanding of levels and effects of pollutants. PCB concentrations have been measured in Lake Trout and in the shells of Lake Ontario Herring gulls. Elevated levels of PCB's in gull egg shells have the effect of thinning the shell and contributing to mortality. In Lake Ontario, studies examining concentrations of PCB's have shown significantly decreasing trends in recent years. The presence of PCB's in fish has a cumulative impact (biomagnification) in the food chain, and leads to reproductive failure in top predators such as eagles and mink.
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