Two mathematical methods to assess the ''health status'' of flounder (Platichthys flesus), eelpout (Zoarces viviparus) and blue mussel (Mytilus spp.) populations of the Baltic Sea were applied on selected biomarker data collected during the EU project ''BEEP'' (Biological Effects of Environmental Pollution on Marine Coastal Ecosystems). The Bioeffect Assessment Index (BAI) and the Integrated Biomarker Index (IBR) combine different biomarkers to single values, which can be used to describe the toxically-induced stress level of populations in different areas. Both indices determined here produced essentially similar results, which in most cases agreed with the known contamination levels in the different study areas. Advantages and limitations of index applications and interpretations are critically discussed. The use of indices provides comprehensive information about biological effects of pollution in marine organisms and may therefore serve as a useful tool for environmental management by ranking the pollution status of marine coastal areas.

The Water Framework Directive (WFD), 2000/60/EC, requires an integrated approach to the monitoring and assessment of the quality of surface water bodies. The chemical status assessment is based on compliance with legally binding Environmental Quality Standards (EQSs) for selected chemical pollutants (priority substances) of EU-wide concern. In the context of the mandate for the period 2010 to 2012 of the subgroup Chemical Monitoring and Emerging Pollutants (CMEP) under the Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) for the WFD, a specific task was established for the elaboration of a technical report on aquatic effect-based monitoring tools. The activity was chaired by Sweden and co-chaired by Italy and progressively involved several Member States and stakeholders in an EU-wide drafting group. The main aim of this technical report was to identify potential effect-based tools (e.g. biomarkers and bioassays) that could be used in the context of the different monitoring programmes (surveillance, operational and investigative) linking chemical and ecological status assessment. The present paper summarizes the major technical contents and findings of the report.

Biomarkers on sentinel organisms are utilised worldwide in biomonitoring programs. However, the lack of effective interpretational capacity has hampered their uptake for use for assessment of risk in environmental management. The aim of the present study was to develop and test an objective decision-support or expert system capable of integrating biomarker results into a five-level health-status index. The expert system is based on a set of rules derived from available data on responses to natural and contaminant-induced stress of marine mussels. Integration of parameters includes: level of biological organization; biological significance; mutual interrelationship; and qualitative trends in a stress gradient. The system was tested on a set of biomarker data obtained from the field and subsequently validated with data from previous studies. The results demonstrate that the expert system can effectively quantify the biological effects of different levels of pollution. The system represents a simple tool for risk assessment of the harmful impact of contaminants by providing a clear indication of the degree of stress syndrome induced by pollutants in mussels.

The ocean quahog Arctica islandica is one of the longest-living and slowest-growing marine bivalves. The oldest specimens obtained for the present study approached 200 yr. To achieve such a long lifespan, accumulation of oxidative damage markers in tissues must ideally be maintained at low levels over time, because the accumulating debris disturbs cellular functions. We investigated shell growth and cellular aging in an Icelandic population of A. islandica. Specifically, we analyzed protein carbonyl concentration as a marker for the oxidative deterioration of tissue proteins, and the accumulation of the fluorescent age pigment lipofuscin over quahog lifetime in gill, mantle and adductor muscle. The very slow growth rates of A. islandica correlate with very efficient maintenance of body proteins compared to other, faster aging bivalves. Lipofuscin granules accumulated mainly in connective tissues of gill and mantle. Lowest lipofuscin accumulation was found in the adductor muscle, and there, only outside the myofibrils. Consistent with the pleiotropic theory of aging, A. islandica seems to trade slow growth and late onset of reproduction for a very efficient autophagic potential that mitigates oxidative damage accumulation and supports long lifetime and presumably reproduction in very old ocean quahog.

An integrated biological effect monitoring concept has been tested in flounder (Platichthys flesus L.) from four locations with different anthropogenic impact in the German Bight. During 3 years of sampling, biomarkers at all levels of biological organisation from the molecular to the ecosystem level were applied and tested on 742 individual fish of body lengths between 18 and 25 cm. At the ecosystem level, the fish were taken as a habitat for the parasite assemblage. The hypothesis was that changes in the environment might lead to changes in the species diversity of parasites and in the infection intensity of single species, as well as between heteroxenic and monoxenic parasite species (H/M ratio). At the molecular level, activity of the CYP1A-dependent monooxygenase ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) was used as a biomarker of exposure. At the subcellular level, the integrity of lysosomal membranes in hepatocytes was taken as an indicator of non-specific acute and chronic toxic effects. Both biomarkers are recommended by the ICES Advisory Committee on the Marine Environment for the application in biological effects monitoring programmes. In addition, neutral lipid content in the liver was used as a marker for pathologically induced fat accumulation. In the same individual fish, a new method for the measurement of macrophage aggregate activity in the liver was tested for its application and reliability in reflecting immunosuppression. Tests were accompanied by chemical analysis of standard organochlorine and heavy metal residues in flounder tissue. A total of 33 parasite species were found. As an indicator species, the mean abundance of Trichodina sp. reflected best the pollution gradient observed with highest infection intensity at the most polluted location. Species diversity was significantly higher in fish caught near the reference site and significantly lower in fish from the polluted Elbe estuary. The use of the heteroxenous/monoxenous species ratio as a marker was not useful at the locations investigated because of the dominance of heteroxenous species at all habitats. Since EROD activity and macrophage aggregate activity were dependent on sex and maturity of female flounder, only male fish were taken into consideration for the integrated evaluation of data. All biochemical and histochemical tests were able to reflect accurately the site-specific differences, as well as an observed pollution event at the end of 1995 as determined by chemical analyses. The correlation analysis revealed a connection not only between the single parasitological and biochemical parameters but also within these groups. The non-specific immune response and Trichodina infection intensity were correlated with all other parameters, leading to the assumption that these may serve as links between the lowest and the highest levels of biological organisation. The simultaneous use of metabolic and parasitological results facilitated the interpretation of the observed variations of the data and the distinction between natural ...