Contribution to the ecotoxicological study of cadmium, lead, copper and zinc in the mussel Mytilus edulis (original) (raw)
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Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2011
The passive sampler called 'Artificial Mussel' (AM) developed by can provide a time-integrated estimate of metal concentrations in the marine environment, and offers a potential device to assess and compare metal concentration in different marine environments worldwide. The aim of this study was to compare metal accumulation on AM and natural mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis at three sites with different metal loads along the Portuguese coast for four months. M. galloprovincialis were placed in cages alongside AMs at each site. Samples were collected monthly and Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn concentrations in whole soft tissues and AMs compared. For both Cu and Cd, the results were similar between AMs and natural mussels. Higher concentrations of Zn were observed in natural mussels, whereas the inverse was shown for Pb (about 10-fold higher). Our results showed that AMs are promising tools for assessing metal concentrations in marine environments.
Science of The Total Environment, 2000
The occurrence of changes in flesh and shell weights and in other biometric parameters of mussels, Mytilus gallopro¨incialis, has been related to different metal levels found in their soft tissues. The effects of clean and Zn-polluted environments and laboratory experiments where Zn-polluted mussels were exposed to sublethal concentrations of Zn, Cu and Cd were investigated. Zinc-polluted mussel shell weights increased significantly after a 51-day depuration period. Exposure of Zn-polluted mussels to Zn or Cd, however, caused a slightly reduced shell growth in comparison with depurating mussel Cu-exposures not causing any reduction in growth. Apart from metal concentrations, metalrshell weight indices have been used to assess metal bioavailability. Metal concentrations recorded in the soft tissues of depurating mussels increased without a source of 'extra' metals, while the Znrshell-weight index was reduced, as expected from a depuration process, Cu and Cdrshell-weight indices remaining constant. Experimental exposure to Zn, Cu and Cd caused augmented values of Zn, Cu and Cdrshell-Ž weight indices, respectively. These different findings were attributed to changes in flesh weight related with gamete . spawning that would produce inconsistent estimates of whole metal concentration in soft tissues. Since changes in the tissue composition and in growth rates do not affect ZnrCu ratios and metalrshell-weight indices, these parameters are proposed as reliable indices of metal bioavailability for 'Mussel-Watch' monitoring programmes. The most sensitive parameter is the metalrshell-weight index, which is, therefore, highly recommended to be used in 'Mussel-Watch' monitoring programmes in order to determine metal bioavailability in seawaters. ᮊ M. Soto 0048-9697r00r$ -see front matter ᮊ 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Ž . PII: S 0 0 4 8 -9 6 9 7 9 9 0 0 4 8 9 -1 ( ) M. Soto et al. r The Science of the Total En¨ironment 247 2000 175᎐187 176
Hydrobiologia, 2005
Since the first North Sea Conference (1984, Bremen), all countries bordering the North Sea made commitments to reduce discharge of hazardous substances into the North Sea. From Belgium and The Netherlands, large reductions (upto 90%) in heavy metal emissions from land-based sources have been reported between 1985 and 2000. Recently, some studies in the Western Scheldt estuary (WS) have shown that total metal concentration in the water, sediments and suspended particles have decreased compared to levels in the 70s. However, data on aquatic organisms is still very limited and it is therefore difficult to confirm whether the reductions in pollution input and generally improving water quality in the WS have a corresponding impact on the levels of heavy metals in aquatic organisms. The current study measured metal concentrations in the soft tissues of mussels, Mytilus edulis (known to be good indicators of environmental metal pollution) during the period 1996-2002. Spatial (salinity and pollution gradients), temporal and seasonal variations were also studied. Results showed a downstream decreasing trend for the metals studied (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) during all sampling campaigns. There was also a significant seasonal effect on tissue metal concentrations, with a peak observed around spring in both WS and the nearby less polluted Eastern Scheldt (ES). On temporal trends, a clear drop of metals in mussels was observed in the early 80s coinciding with the start of the efforts to reduce chemical pollution input into the North Sea. Since those early reductions, metal concentrations in mussels generally remained unchanged upto mid 90s. However, in recent times metal concentration in mussels have increased significantly, for example Cd in 2002 was almost 10 times the values in 1983 and similar to levels seen during the peak in the 70s. Other metals also increased in the 90s also reaching levels seen in the 70s. As there is no indication of recent increase in metal input into the estuary, we suggest that increased metal concentrations observed in mussels in recent years especially in the upper estuary are most likely a result of changes in physical and chemical speciation and metal bioavailability. Such changes may be caused by changes in some water quality parameters in the estuary (i.e. increased dissolved oxygen, concentration of organic matter), resulting in conditions that favour releases of sediment-bound metals into the water column. The relationship between metal content and season showed very similar annual profiles in the polluted WS and less polluted ES. Thus, seasonal variations in metal concentrations appear to be largely controlled by biological processes, while total body burdens are dependent on environmental levels and bioavailability.
Oceanologia, 2015
The aim of the present work is to broaden our knowledge on the variability of trace metals in mussel tissues, focusing on seasonal fluctuations in the three different sampling sites of Algerian west coast (Oran Harbor (S1), Ain Defla (S2) and Hadjaj (S3)). For this purpose, the bioavailability (metal indices) and bioaccumulation (metal concentrations in soft tissues) of heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Pb, and Cd), and the physiological characteristics (e.g. biological indices such as condition index (CI)) of mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis have been assessed and related to seasons and sites. In S1, the highest levels of metal concentrations and indices were obtained in mussels sampled in winter for Zn, Cu and Cd, but in summer for Pb. The biological indices significantly decreased in winter. In S2, the levels of concentrations and indices of all metals varied whatever the seasons, excepting in summer where the values were the lowest. In summer Peer review under the responsibility of Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. § We thank Ms. Nathalie Bendbiko and Ms. Catinca Birna (University Agency of Francophony (AUF-Paris)) for their support through the granting of the Doctoral scholarship.
The study has focused freshwater mussels to determine the risk of water pollution. We have shown that freshwater mussels are a good bioindicator for monitoring over time this type of water pollution due to their ability to filter water from the river. The entire food chain (freshwater mussels, mollusc, shrimp, fish, birds and humans) is affected by the pollution. The Saint Etienne (France) has a large industrial and mining history. The end of these activities has given way to industrial wasteland and mine dumps. Leaching by rain industrial and mining waste may generate a very large urban pollution. Rivers (Ondaine and Loire) and lakes (Saint–Victor–sur–Loire) downstream of this zone are highly polluted by heavy metals.
Journal of trace elements in medicine and biology : organ of the Society for Minerals and Trace Elements (GMS), 2018
The present work aims to study the metallic contamination of four sampling sites located nearby major sewage outfalls of the Casablanca coast (Morocco), using indigenous mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis as bioindicators of pollution. This research offered the opportunity to study trace metals bioaccumulation mechanisms, which represent a major factor in assessment processes of the pollution effects in coastal ecosystem health. The bioavailability and the bioaccumulation of trace metals (Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb) were evaluated in order to compare the metallic contamination in mussels' tissues and find a possible correlation with physiological parameters of this filter feeding species. Our results showed a significant spatiotemporal variation of bioaccumulation, compared to control. A significant correlation coefficient between metals (Zn and Pb) bioavailability and physiological index (CI) was revealed in mussels from the most polluted location. The seasonal variation of trace metal accu...
Marine Ecology-progress Series, 1995
Seasonal variations in metal concentrations in soft tissues of marine mussels can be due, to a great extent, to seasonal changes in flesh weight. Consequently, this event results in an unpredictable overestimation of metal bioavailability when the metal concentration in soft tissues is considered as an index of such metal bioavallability. The Abra estuary (Bizkaia, Bay of Biscay, Spain) was used as a natural experimental basin with well-known differences in the levels of metallic pollutants. The level of metal bioavailability was determined at various sites at different times of the year. For this purpose the conventional approach of recording metal concentrations in soft tissues and the approach based on the calculation of metal/shell-weight indices, first proposed by Fischer (1983), were applied. We concluded that seasonal changes in organism condition (Flesh Condition Index) cause unpredictable oscillations in the metal concentration in soft tissues. For this reason the direct use of metal concentration values is not recommended to assess metal bioavailability. The metal/shell-weight indices, however, were not affected by seasonal changes in the flesh weight of sentinel mussels and thus may provide a more realistic indication of metal bioavailability. In the present study, different metal bioavailabilities, assessed by metal/shell-weight indices, were found at different sampling sites, according to the influence of industrial activities. Seasonal trends in metal/shell-weight indices (attributed to different metal inputs at different tlmes) were also recorded. In conclusion, metal/shell-weight indices, characterized by a high sensitivity and a low noise-to-signal ratio, are a simple and rehable tool for assessing metal bioavailability in 'Mussel Watch' monitonng programmes.
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2010
Mussels from Mytilus edulis complex were used as biomonitors of the trace metals Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn, and Cu at 17 sampling sites to assess the relative bioavailability of metals in coastal waters around the European continent. Because accumulated metal concentrations in a given area can differ temporally, data were corrected for the effect of season before large-scale spatial comparisons were made. The highest concentration of Fe was noted in the North Sea and of Mn in the Baltic. Increased tissue concentrations of Pb were recorded in the mussels from the Bay of Biscay and the Baltic Sea. Low concentrations of metals were determined in the mussels from the Mediterranean Sea and the Northern Baltic. Relatively low geographic variations of Cu and Zn indicate that mussels are able to partially regulate accumulated body concentrations, which means Cu and Zn are, to some extent, independent of environmental concentrations.
Fresenius Environmental Bulletin
In the present study, several experiments were designed to evaluate the acute (96-h) and chronic (28-d) toxicity of copper, lead and zinc in seawater on the survival of the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. The toxicity of these metals to mussels was evaluated by static and semistatic bioassays, calculating the LC50 values (lethality concentrations for 50%) for different sizes of mussels. Survival decreased with increasing concentrations of Cu, Pb and Zn but the survival in seawater with dissolved Cu, Pb and Zn was higher in the presence of sediment than without sediment.
Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2008
The Western Scheldt river and estuary is known to be highly polluted as it receives industrial, agricultural and domestic effluents from one of the most populated and industrialised zones in Europe. Aquatic organisms are exposed to pollutants, specifically metals that are present in different environmental phases, e.g. dissolved, suspended material or sediment phases. The objective of this study was to study the relationship that exists between environmental metal levels, the degree of metal uptake by aquatic organisms with the concomitant biological responses. For this purpose the bivalve mollusk, Mytilus edulis, was selected as bioaccumulation indicator organism. Environmental (water and sediment) and mussel samples were collected during the late winter (March 2000) from sampling sites in the Scheldt estuary. Sites were selected to represent a salinity gradient from the mouth of the estuary to the furthest distribution area of mussels upstream in the system. Together with standard water quality parameters (e.g. salinity, dissolved oxygen, dissolved organic carbon, etc.) concentrations of twelve metals were analysed in the water (dissolved and suspended matter) and sediments. Levels of these metals were also measured in the soft tissue of M. edulis, together with concomitant biomarker responses in resident mussel populations at each site. The biomarkers that were included in this study were condition index, scope for growth, survival in air, cell membrane stability, DNA damage, and metallothioneins. Data were subjected to multivariate statistical analysis. The physico-chemical parameters and metals in the environmental samples clustered the sites to reflect the distribution based on the salinity gradient. Bioaccumulation results revealed increased metal uptake along a pollution gradient with the highest metal bioaccumulation occurring at the upstream most sites and therefore closest to the in the industrial activities. However, the biomarker responses clustered the sites in a manner that reflected the influence of combination of internal exposure (bioaccumulation) and external exposure (physico-chemical conditions). These differences in biomarker responses clearly demonstrated were attributed to abiotic factors other than metal pollution alone e.g. localized short-term increases in increased suspended sediment concentrations and decreased dissolved oxygen concentrations.