title: Multi-biomarker approach using the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis L.) to assess the quality of marine environments: season and habitat-related impacts.
abstract: Using a comprehensive approach, intertidal, near- and offshore sites in the German Bight were analysed for their environmental quality by assessing the health of blue mussels (Mytilus edulis). During a ten month sampling period mussels were studied with a set of biomarkers comprising lysosomal membrane stability and accumulation of lipofuscin, supplemented by biomarkers indicating nutritional status such as neutral lipids and glycogen in the cells of the digestive gland. Data were analysed in relation to sex, gonadal status, condition index and for the presence of parasites, to determine the overall health status of mussels at the respective sites. Mussels from all sites showed clear signs of stress, indicating an inferior environmental quality throughout the southern German Bight. Further, habitat characteristics such as inundation time and growing on- or off-bottom, as well as seasonal factors, can clearly influence the response of biomarkers in mussels exposed to similar levels of chemical environmental stress.
authors.affiliation: Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Bremerhaven, Germany. Electronic address: Matthias.Brenner@awi.de.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brenner
authors.affiliation: Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Bremerhaven, Germany.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Broeg
authors.affiliation: Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Bremerhaven, Germany; University of Applied Sciences Bremerhaven, Bremerhaven, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Frickenhaus
authors.affiliation: Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Bremerhaven, Germany; University of Applied Sciences Bremerhaven, Bremerhaven, Germany.
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Buck
authors.affiliation: Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Bremerhaven, Germany; Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koehler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis*; D017753:Ecosystem; D004777:Environment; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005858:Germany; D049880:Mytilus edulis / Q000502:physiology*; D009659:North Sea; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Biomarker; Habitat condition; Lysosomal stability; Multivariate analysis; Mytilus edulis; Parasites