Are Mussels Always the Best Bioindicators? Comparative Study on Biochemical Responses of Three Marine Invertebrate Species to Chronic Port Pollution

Abstract

Bivalves have traditionally been considered good bioindicators due to their sensitivity to pollution, among other features. This characteristic is shared by several other non-bivalve species as well, though studies in this respect remain scarce. This work aims to compare biomarker sensitivity to chronic port pollution among three intertidal invertebrate species with good bioindicator characteristics. Mussels' immunological (phenoloxidase and peroxidases) and biotransformation (glutathione-S-transferase) responses were contrasted against those of limpets and barnacles. The three species under study evidenced activity of all the enzymes measured, although with differences. Barnacle Balanus glandula was the most sensitive species showing pollution modulation of the three enzymes, which suggests that mussels would not always be the best bioindicator species among marine invertebrates depending on the responses that are assessed.

Recent findings on phenoloxidases in bivalves

“…Moreover, in situ transplantation studies were carried out with multiple biomarkers, including laccase in C. gigas (Luna-Acosta et al, 2015a and the biological effects of chemical pollution in a harbour were studied to develop a multi-biomarker approach on marine species and to consider the environmental variability (climatic and anthropic) (Laitano and Fernández-Gimenez, 2016;Breitwieser et al, 2017). On the basis of the principal results obtained in these studies, we hypothesize that, when a contaminant enters an organism, POs are likely to play different roles in bivalves (Fig.…”

Reproductive aspects and energy allocation compromise to aerial exposure in the intertidal mussel Brachidontes rodriguezii. A case study at two tidal levels

“…Its wide distribution, the condition of ecosystem engineer (Borthagaray and Carranza, 2007) and recent studies considering B. rodriguezii a sentinel species (e.g. Laitano and Fernández-Gimenez, 2016;Oliva et al, 2015Oliva et al, , 2017Quintas et al, 2017;Buzzi and Marcovecchio, 2018;Arrighetti et al, 2019) support the ecological relevance of the species. However, the effect of environmental stress on energy allocation patterns of this species remains unknown.…”

Morphology of the digestive gland of the marine panpulmonate limpetSiphonaria lessonii: A cytological, histochemical, and ultrastructural description

“…S. lessonii has also been proposed as a bioindicator organism. However, the studies have been restricted to the accumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in soft tissues (Laitano et al, ), and the biochemical response to chronic pollution in a port area in Mar del Plata (Laitano & Fernández‐Giménez, ). Nevertheless, to include this species as a monitoring organism and broaden the information of the effects of contamination, an accurate description of its digestive gland is not only worthwhile but necessary.…”