title: Valve gape behaviour of mussels (Mytilus edulis) exposed to dispersed crude oil as an environmental monitoring endpoint.
abstract: Environmental monitoring requires cost-effective and efficient methods for detecting potential effects of pollution, and valve gape behaviour has been used with this purpose for a range of contaminants in freshwater and marine bivalves. The current study investigated the use of a new method for measuring valve behaviour responses in mussels (Mytilus edulis) exposed to dispersed crude oil (DCO). Results confirmed that valve gape is a sensitive parameter; at the high DCO concentration (0.25mgL-1) the mean valve gape was reduced from 49 to 31%, and mussels increased shell movement (measured as distance travelled) or spent more time closed to avoid contact with the oil. At the low DCO concentration (0.015mgL-1) the distance travelled parameter was the most sensitive endpoint. Results also demonstrated that valve gape behaviour is a valid endpoint when monitoring mussels for exposure to DCO.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Stavanger, 4036 Stavanger, Norway; BiotaTools AS, Prof. Olav Hanssensvei 11, N-4021 Stavanger, Norway. Electronic address: kjr@biotatools.no.
authors.forename: Kirsten J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Redmond
authors.affiliation: BiotaTools AS, Prof. Olav Hanssensvei 11, N-4021 Stavanger, Norway. Electronic address: Mark.Berry@iris.no.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berry
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Stavanger, 4036 Stavanger, Norway; International Research Institute of Stavanger/IRIS-Environment, Mekjarvik 12, 4070 Randaberg, Norway. Electronic address: daniela.m.pampanin@uis.no.
authors.forename: Daniela M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Pampanin
authors.affiliation: BiotaTools AS, Prof. Olav Hanssensvei 11, N-4021 Stavanger, Norway. Electronic address: oka@biotatools.no.
authors.forename: Odd Ketil
authors.initials: OK
authors.lastname: Andersen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D049880:Mytilus edulis / Q000187:drug effects*; D059392:Petroleum Pollution; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Dispersed crude oil; Environmental monitoring; Mussel; Valve gape; Valvometry