Biofilm Adhesiveness is a Reliable Proxy for the Effect Assessment of Silver Nanoparticles on the Functionality of Freshwater Biofilms

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Freshwaterbiofilms have great ecological relevance and are essential for aquatic habitats. The biofilm microbes not only constitute the base of the aquatic food web, the benthic pelagic feedback loop and the microbial loop make different nutrient available for other larger organisms such as makrophytes. Moreover, benthic biofilms play a significant role in the process of auto purification and can function as a trap for persistent contaminations and pollutants. Even more, during the process of biostabilization benthic biofilms can significantly increase the stability of fine sediments and thus prevent a re-suspension of legacies.

Dueto this variety of important ecosystem functions and an even greater number potential stressors which can impact these biofilm services, research into the reaction of benthic systems and biofilms after disturbance is increasingly expedited. As examples, the development of biofilms after an exposure to stressors such as desiccation or antibiotics was investigated. Furthermore, different survival strategies of biofilm microbes were studied in more detail such as morphological changes in bacteria due to stress [9] or different stages of dormancy in case of nutrient deficiency in bacteria that do not form spores. There are also first insights into the resilience of the microbial community of a drinking water system and how stress can induce changes in the community composition. However, reliable and measurable markers for the functionality of the biofilm system and its ecosystem services were hardly addressed. The investigation of Weaver et al. Assessing the resilience of the enzyme activity of ground water biofilms constitutes a suitable example of this required new comprehensive perspective as microbial enzyme activity can be essential for ground water quality and the total habitat. The adhesiveness of the biofilm constitutes another example of an essential ecosystem function: it significantly influences the development of the biofilm matrix and shapes the rate of attachment and detachment of particles and flocs, and thus the mass balance in the system of biofilm and fine sediment. Furthermore, the process of biostabilization is depending on biofilm stability and adhesiveness which is directly measurable using the MagPI-IP.