Environmental Assessment with Cage Exposure in the Neva Estuary, Baltic Sea: Metal Bioaccumulation and Physiologic Activity of Bivalve Molluscs

The rise in anthropogenic impacts on the marine environment requires new water management. The use of a triadic approach (bioaccumulation, bioassay, and physiological biomarkers) has been shown to have good applicability for the comparative assessment of the environmental state of the Neva Estuary (...

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Main Authors: Nadezhda Berezina, Alexey Maximov, Andrey Sharov, Yulia Gubelit, Sergei Kholodkevich
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-09-01
Series:Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/11/9/1756
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author Nadezhda Berezina
Alexey Maximov
Andrey Sharov
Yulia Gubelit
Sergei Kholodkevich
author_facet Nadezhda Berezina
Alexey Maximov
Andrey Sharov
Yulia Gubelit
Sergei Kholodkevich
author_sort Nadezhda Berezina
collection DOAJ
description The rise in anthropogenic impacts on the marine environment requires new water management. The use of a triadic approach (bioaccumulation, bioassay, and physiological biomarkers) has been shown to have good applicability for the comparative assessment of the environmental state of the Neva Estuary (Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea). The novelty of the methodological approach of the study was that it involved both active and passive bio-monitoring methods for assessing the quality of estuarine environment. The classical analyses of metal concentration in bottom sediments, in field biota (fish and molluscs), and in caged molluscs were accompanied by a bioassay of sediment toxicity using amphipods. The physiological state of molluscs kept in cages was assessed according to two functional characteristics, such as cardio-tolerance and metabolic activity (oxygen consumption rate), after exposition in cages. The method of active monitoring (caging exposure with molluscs) as a measurement of parameters in clean molluscs has proven itself well in controlling the accumulation of both metals and oil products. Macroalgae that are abundant in estuarine ecosystems are also good indicators of metals, at least showing the transition from bottom sediments to the next level of food webs. Unionid molluscs were found to be a more sensitive and effective indicator of contaminant accumulation than dreissenid molluscs, characterized by a low tolerance to changeable environmental conditions in the estuarine ecosystem and rather high mortality in cages. Our results have shown that caging exposure with unionids can be a widely used methodological approach for the assessment of estuarine environmental quality through the determination of metal concentrations in molluscs and their physiological state.
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spelling doaj.art-85c676b3f7914418936f295067272e802023-11-19T11:26:57ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122023-09-01119175610.3390/jmse11091756Environmental Assessment with Cage Exposure in the Neva Estuary, Baltic Sea: Metal Bioaccumulation and Physiologic Activity of Bivalve MolluscsNadezhda Berezina0Alexey Maximov1Andrey Sharov2Yulia Gubelit3Sergei Kholodkevich4Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya Embankment, 1, 199034 St. Petersburg, RussiaZoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya Embankment, 1, 199034 St. Petersburg, RussiaSt. Petersburg Federal Research Centre, Russian Academy of Science, 14th Line Vasilievsky Ostrov 39, 199178 St. Petersburg, RussiaZoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya Embankment, 1, 199034 St. Petersburg, RussiaSt. Petersburg Federal Research Centre, Russian Academy of Science, 14th Line Vasilievsky Ostrov 39, 199178 St. Petersburg, RussiaThe rise in anthropogenic impacts on the marine environment requires new water management. The use of a triadic approach (bioaccumulation, bioassay, and physiological biomarkers) has been shown to have good applicability for the comparative assessment of the environmental state of the Neva Estuary (Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea). The novelty of the methodological approach of the study was that it involved both active and passive bio-monitoring methods for assessing the quality of estuarine environment. The classical analyses of metal concentration in bottom sediments, in field biota (fish and molluscs), and in caged molluscs were accompanied by a bioassay of sediment toxicity using amphipods. The physiological state of molluscs kept in cages was assessed according to two functional characteristics, such as cardio-tolerance and metabolic activity (oxygen consumption rate), after exposition in cages. The method of active monitoring (caging exposure with molluscs) as a measurement of parameters in clean molluscs has proven itself well in controlling the accumulation of both metals and oil products. Macroalgae that are abundant in estuarine ecosystems are also good indicators of metals, at least showing the transition from bottom sediments to the next level of food webs. Unionid molluscs were found to be a more sensitive and effective indicator of contaminant accumulation than dreissenid molluscs, characterized by a low tolerance to changeable environmental conditions in the estuarine ecosystem and rather high mortality in cages. Our results have shown that caging exposure with unionids can be a widely used methodological approach for the assessment of estuarine environmental quality through the determination of metal concentrations in molluscs and their physiological state.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/11/9/1756heavy metalszebra musselpond musseloxygen consumptioncardioactivitybioassay
spellingShingle Nadezhda Berezina
Alexey Maximov
Andrey Sharov
Yulia Gubelit
Sergei Kholodkevich
Environmental Assessment with Cage Exposure in the Neva Estuary, Baltic Sea: Metal Bioaccumulation and Physiologic Activity of Bivalve Molluscs
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
heavy metals
zebra mussel
pond mussel
oxygen consumption
cardioactivity
bioassay
title Environmental Assessment with Cage Exposure in the Neva Estuary, Baltic Sea: Metal Bioaccumulation and Physiologic Activity of Bivalve Molluscs
title_full Environmental Assessment with Cage Exposure in the Neva Estuary, Baltic Sea: Metal Bioaccumulation and Physiologic Activity of Bivalve Molluscs
title_fullStr Environmental Assessment with Cage Exposure in the Neva Estuary, Baltic Sea: Metal Bioaccumulation and Physiologic Activity of Bivalve Molluscs
title_full_unstemmed Environmental Assessment with Cage Exposure in the Neva Estuary, Baltic Sea: Metal Bioaccumulation and Physiologic Activity of Bivalve Molluscs
title_short Environmental Assessment with Cage Exposure in the Neva Estuary, Baltic Sea: Metal Bioaccumulation and Physiologic Activity of Bivalve Molluscs
title_sort environmental assessment with cage exposure in the neva estuary baltic sea metal bioaccumulation and physiologic activity of bivalve molluscs
topic heavy metals
zebra mussel
pond mussel
oxygen consumption
cardioactivity
bioassay
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/11/9/1756
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