ABSTRACT
This paper summarises the progress which has been made toward standardising the conduct of aquatic outdoor microcosm and mesocosm tests with pesticides and other chemicals. Until recently, there was no international agreement on this issue, but SETAC-Europe held an expert meeting at Monks Wood in the UK in July 1991 which resulted in a set of guidelines for the conduct of pond microcosm/mesocosm studies with pesticides. It was recognised that rigid protocols are inappropriate for such work, and the SETAC-Europe guidelines are therefore flexible and unprescriptive. The guidelines cover:
Microcosm/mesocosm size, composition and characterisation
Treatment, replication and duration
Endpoints and sampling
Interpretation of results
In October 1991, a similar workshop on outdoor microcosms was held under the auspices of the SETAC Foundation for Environmental Education at Wintergreen, Virginia, USA. Although organised in a different way, this workshop resulted in guidelines that are largely in agreement with the Monks Wood proposals.
The present paper briefly examines these two guidelines and highlights areas of remaining disagreement. It also makes proposals for resolving these differences. The paper concludes by identifying some of the areas where further research is needed before comprehensive international guidelines can be written.
