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=Biotic Ligand Model= The Biotic Ligand Model (BLM) is a tool used in aquatic toxicology that examines the bioavailability of metals in the aquatic environment and the affinity of these metals to accumulate on gill surfaces of organisms. BLM depends on the site-specific water quality including such parameters as pH, hardness, and dissolved organic carbon. In this model, lethal accumulation values (accumulation of metal on the gill surface, in the case of fish, that cause mortality in 50% of the population) are used to be predictive of lethal concentration values that are more universal for aquatic toxicology and the development of standards. Collection of water chemistry parameters for a given site, incorporation of the data into the BLM computer model and analysis of the output data is used to accomplish BLM analysis. Comparison of these values derived from the model, have repeatedly been found to be comparable to the results of lethal tissue concentrations from acute toxicity tests (Arnold et al. 2005). The BLM was developed from the gill surface interaction model (GSIM) and the free ion activity model (FIAM). . Both of these models also address how metals interact with organisms and aquatic environments. Currently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses the BLM as a tool to outline Ambient Water Quality Criteria (AWQC) for surface water. Because BLM is so useful for investigation of metals in surface water, there are developmental plans to expand BLM for use in marine and estuarine environments.

External Sources
Ruth Sofield