Using fatty acids to fingerprint biofilm communities: a means to quickly and accurately assess stream quality

The assessment of lotic ecosystem quality plays an essential role to help determine the extent of environmental stress and the effectiveness of restoration activities. Methods that incorporate biological properties are considered ideal because they provide direct assessment of the end goal of a vigorous biological community. Our primary objective was to use biofilm lipids to develop an accurate biomonitoring tool that requires little expertise and time to facilitate assessment. A model was created of fatty acid biomarkers most associated with predetermined stream quality classification, exceptional warm water habitat (EWH), warm water habitat (WWH), and limited resource (LR-AMD), and validated along a gradient of known stream qualities. The fatty acid fingerprint of the biofilm community was statistically different (P = 0.03) and was generally unique to recognized stream quality. One striking difference was essential fatty acids (DHA, EPA, and ARA) were absent from LR-AMD and only recovered from WWH and EWH, 45 % more in EWH than WWH. Independently testing the model along a stream quality gradient, this model correctly categorized six of the seven sites, with no match due to low sample biomass. These results provide compelling evidence that biofilm fatty acid analysis can be a sensitive, accurate, and cost-effective biomonitoring tool. We conceive of future studies expanding this research to more in-depth studies of remediation efforts, determining the applicable geographic area for the method and the addition of multiple stressors with the possibility of distinguishing among stressors.