title: A multibiomarker approach to the assessment of pollution impacts in two Baltic Sea coastal areas in Sweden using caged mussels (Mytilus trossulus).
abstract: Blue mussels (Mytilus trossulus) were transplanted in cages for three months in two Swedish coastal areas in the Bothnian Sea (northern Baltic Sea) to investigate the interactions between analysed environmental chemicals and biological responses. A wide array of biological parameters (biomarkers) including antioxidant and biotransformation activity, geno-, cyto- and neurotoxic effects, phagocytosis, bioenergetic status and heart rate were measured to detect the possible effects of contaminants. Integrated Biomarker Response index and Principal Component Analysis performed on the individual biological response data were able to discriminate between the two study areas as well as the contaminated sites from their respective local reference sites. The two contaminated sites outside the cities of Sundsvall (station S1) and Gävle (station G1) were characterised by different biomarker response patterns. Mussels at station S1 showed a low condition index, increased heart rate recovery time and phagocytosis activity coinciding with the highest tissue concentrations of some trace metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and organotins. At station G1 the highest organochlorine pesticide concentration was recorded as well as elevations in glutathione S-transferase activity, thiamine content and low lysosomal membrane stability. Significant variability in the geno- and cytotoxic responses and bioenergetic status was also observed at the different caging stations. The results obtained suggest that different chemical mixtures present in the study areas cause variable biological response patterns in organisms.
authors.affiliation: Finnish Environment Institute, Marine Research Centre, Hakuninmaantie 6, FI-00430 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: raisa.turja@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Turja
authors.affiliation: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, D-27570 Bremerhaven, Germany.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Höher
authors.affiliation: Stockholm University, Department of Systems Ecology, Frescati Backe, Svante Arrhenius V 21A, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Snoeijs
authors.affiliation: Nature Research Centre, Institute of Ecology, Akademijos str. 2, LT-08412 Vilnius, Lithuania.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Baršienė
authors.affiliation: Nature Research Centre, Institute of Ecology, Akademijos str. 2, LT-08412 Vilnius, Lithuania.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Butrimavičienė
authors.affiliation: Scientific Research Center for Ecological Safety, Russian Academy of Sciences, 18, Korpusnaya Str., 197110 St. Petersburg, Russia.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kuznetsova
authors.affiliation: Scientific Research Center for Ecological Safety, Russian Academy of Sciences, 18, Korpusnaya Str., 197110 St. Petersburg, Russia; Department of Environmental Safety and Regional Sustainable Development of Saint-Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia.
authors.forename: S V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Kholodkevich
authors.affiliation: University Bordeaux 1, Oceanic and Continental Environments and Paleoenvironments (EPOC, UMR 5805 CNRS), Laboratory of Physico- and Toxico-Chemistry of the Environment (LPTC), 351 cours de la Libération, F-33405 Talence, France.
authors.forename: M-H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Devier
authors.affiliation: University Bordeaux 1, Oceanic and Continental Environments and Paleoenvironments (EPOC, UMR 5805 CNRS), Laboratory of Physico- and Toxico-Chemistry of the Environment (LPTC), 351 cours de la Libération, F-33405 Talence, France.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Budzinski
authors.affiliation: Finnish Environment Institute, Marine Research Centre, Hakuninmaantie 6, FI-00430 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: K K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Lehtonen
mesh_terms: D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005980:Glutathione Reductase / Q000378:metabolism; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000378:metabolism; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D049878:Mytilus / Q000378:metabolism*; D009947:Organotin Compounds / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism; D013548:Sweden; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D009947:Organotin Compounds; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002374:Catalase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D005980:Glutathione Reductase; D005982:Glutathione Transferase; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase
keywords: Baltic Sea; Biomarkers; Contamination; Mussel caging; Mytilus trossulus