Alkaline phosphatase as a bio-indicator of phosphorus-eutrophy in freshwater ecosystems: A review

Abstract

Limnologists have greatly advanced the understanding of indicators of phosphorus (P)-eutrophy in surface waters. Biotic variables such as macro-invertebrates, fish, zooplankton, benthic algae, and diatoms are extensively used for bio-assessment of eutrophy. New concepts highlight the importance of bed-sediment based “response” variables predicting functional shifts during eutrophication. A cross analysis of studies reveals that alkaline phosphatase (ALP), which serves as a proxy of P-deficiency, and also as an indicator of benthic anoxia/hypoxia-driven feedbacks, can be an easy to measure, cost-effective and reliable tool to assess changes in nutrient stoichiometry, trophic status, and ecological functioning at the sediment–water interface. Here, the issues discussed in this paper are highly relevant to explore new domains of research and “response” based ecosystem models for potential eutrophication management decisions. Because ALP is used in molecular cloning and fingerprinting studies, it is suggested that approaches based on the “omics” technologies need to be used to explore more intricate connections to empirically address ALP-P-eutrophy linkages to track eutrophication in freshwater ecosystems. © 2023