title: An integrated assessment of pollution and biological effects in flounder, mussels and sediment in the southern Baltic Sea coastal area.
abstract: Organic and metal contaminants and biological effects were investigated in flounder, mussels, and sediments in the southern Baltic Sea coastal area in order to assess environmental quality status in that area. Four sites were selected, including two within the Gulf of Gdańsk (GoG). In biota and sediment at each site, DDTs dominated over PCBs and PBDEs were the least abundant among organic contaminants. Their concentrations decreased progressively outward from GoG. Among metal contaminants, the levels of Hg, Pb, and Cd were elevated in GoG. Biomarkers in flounder, EROD activity and DNA SB, showed moderate positive correlations with organic and metal contaminants. In flounder, the integrated biomarker index (IBR/n) presented a spatial trend coherent with chemical pollution index (CPI), but there was no clear spatial correspondence between IBR/n and CPI in mussels nor between sediment toxicity index (STI) and sediment CPI. The integrated assessment of contaminant and biological effect data against available assessment criteria indicated that in biota, the contaminant assessment thresholds were most often exceeded by CB-118, heptachlor, PBDE, and Hg (in the GoG sediments by p,p'-DDT, Hg and Cd), while of the biological determinants, the threshold was breeched by AChE activity in mussels in GoG. Applying the ICES/OSPAR traffic-light approach showed that of the 50 parameters assessed at each site, there were 18% of determinants in the red color category in the two GoG sites and 8% of determinants in the two sites outside GoG, which indicated that none of the four investigated sites attained good environmental status (GES).
authors.affiliation: National Marine Fisheries Research Institute (NMFRI), Gdynia, Poland. dabrowska@mir.gdynia.pl.
authors.forename: Henryka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dabrowska
authors.affiliation: National Marine Fisheries Research Institute (NMFRI), Gdynia, Poland.
authors.forename: Orest
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kopko
authors.affiliation: Marine Research Centre, Finnish Environment Institute, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Kari K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Lehtonen
authors.affiliation: Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institute/Institute of Fisheries Ecology, Cuxhaven, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.affiliation: National Marine Fisheries Research Institute (NMFRI), Gdynia, Poland.
authors.forename: Ilona
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Waszak
authors.affiliation: Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology, Riga, Latvia.
authors.forename: Maija
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Balode
authors.affiliation: Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology, Riga, Latvia.
authors.forename: Evita
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Strode
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001454:Baltic States; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000737:chemistry*; D005432:Flounder; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000032:analysis; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
keywords: Baltic Sea; Biological effects; Chemical pollution; Flounder; Good environmental status; Integrated assessment; Mussels; Sediments