A new insight into ecosystem services was provided in the article titled:
On the biotic self-purification of aquatic ecosystems: elements of the theory. Article.
link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FB%3ADOBS.0000033278.12858.12;
DOI 10.1023/B:DOBS.0000033278.12858.12.
One of key benefits from normal function of healthy aquatic ecosystems is the provisioning of clean water, in other words, maintaining proper water quality (which is a result of water self-purification in ecosystem). Until the time of publishing this article, no consistent and multi-faceted theory of water self-purification had existed. This article is the first publication to formulate such a theory that elucidates and integrates multiple roles of aquatic organisms involved, including not only microorganisms but also macroorganisms, e.g., higher plants and invertebrates. Both plankton and benthic organisms are involved and their roles were discovered and analyzed in this article.
A more detailed description of the content of this paper:
This article presents a new theory of biotic (biological) maintaining the natural purification potential of aquatic ecosystems. The fundamental elements are formulated for a qualitative theory of the multifunctional (polyfunctional) role of the biota (the biological community of aquatic organisms) in improving water quality and doing water self-purification in aquatic ecosystems. The theory covers the following:
the sources of energy for the mechanisms of water self-purification;
the main functional blocks of the system of self-purification;
the system of the main processes that are involved;
the analysis of the degree of participation of the main large taxa; the reliability of the mechanisms of water self-purification; regulation of the processes;
the response of the mechanisms of water self-purification towards the external influences (man-made impacts, pollution);
and some conclusions relevant to the practice of environment protection.
In support of the theory, the results are given of the author’s experiments which demonstrated the ability of some pollutants (surfactants, detergents, and some others) to inhibit the water filtration activity of aquatic invertebrate filter-feeders, namely, the bivalve mollusks, including mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis, Mytilus edulis), and oysters (Crassostrea gigas).
More information on this article:
Laboratory of Physico-Chemistry of Biomembranes, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vorob’evy gory, Moscow, 119991 Russia.
Doklady Biological Sciences. 2004; 396:206-211.
Source: PubMed;
http://5bio5.blogspot.com/2015/01/on-biotic-self-purification-of-aquatic_22.html;
