Water fleas as ‘canaries in a coal mine’ offer key to managing chemical pollution

Water fleas, or Daphnia, could provide an important ‘early warning system’ for chemical pollution in our lakes and rivers.

In addition, where prevention to pollute has failed, Daphnia could work as a bioremediation agent to help reduce hazards.

Researchers, led by the University of Birmingham, have devised a new framework using high throughput ‘omics’ technologies to detect the effects of ambient chemical mixtures—of the type and concentration typically found in the environment—on the biology of living organisms. The approach uses Daphnia to understand what chemicals can be toxic to other species and how. This is possible because all animals, including humans, share genes that underpin their responses to environmental changes including exposure to pollution. (…)