Resumen

TORO-RESTREPO, B. USE OF BIOMARKERS IN POLLUTION EVALUATION. Luna Azul [online]. 2011, n.32, pp.121-127. ISSN 1909-2474.

Each day is more difficult to evaluate an ecosystem health due to the amount and diversity of xenobiotic substances introduced in them. This is why in the last two decades the use of biomarkers for the evaluation and monitoring of ecosystems as been increasingly used. A biomarker is a functional, physiological or bio-chemical response to the cellular level or molecular interactions that an organism, a population or a community reflects before a potential danger. These responses can be chemical, physical or biological. The biomarker represents an integrated signal of the pollution level of a determined area and, as a consequence, constitutes an indicator of the toxicological risk level a determined natural population can be submitted to. However, for an environmental evaluation or biomonitoring program to be effective, multiple biomarkers describing the symptoms that suggest the cause-effect relationship for a species must be used.

Palabras clave : Biomarkers; physiological responses; ecotoxicology; pollution; monitoring.

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