PARENT SESSION

3A - Biomarker/Biomonitoring
Hall 8
8:30 AM - 12:30 PM, Tuesday, 29 April 2003
Chair: Garrigues, Ph.¹, ¹

(TU8/8) Cell- and tissue-level biomarkers in caged and wild pelagic organisms along two pollution gradients in the North Sea.

Bilbao, Eider¹, Ibabe, Arantza¹, Zaldibar, Beñat¹, Soto, Manu¹, Cajaraville, Miren P.¹, Cancio, Ibon¹, Marigómez, Ionan¹, ¹ University of the Basque Country, Bilbo, Basque Country, Spain

ABSTRACT- Within the BECPELAG workshop we applied a battery of biomarkers in wild (herring, Clupea harengus and saithe, Pollachius virens) and caged animals (cod, Gadus morhua and mussels, Mytilus edulis). Two pollution gradients were studied; one in central/northern North Sea around an oil extraction field (Statfjord) and the other one in the German Bight, close to the Elbe estuary. We detected significant biological effects in accordance with chemical data that revealed the existence of PAH and PCB concentration gradients along both transects. No significant accumulation of metals was detected in any case through autometallography. Significant differences were observed in peroxisomes in the German Bight between the station closest to the Elbe river (GB1) and the other three stations, including the reference area (GB4). Wild herring from GB1 showed the highest hepatic peroxisomal volume density (Vvp) and neutral lipid accumulation. In agreement cods caged in GB4 showed the lowest palmitoyl-CoA oxidase (AOX) activity. The presence of parasites and melanomacrophage centers were common histopathological alterations in herring liver. In the Statfjord transect wild saithe in the reference station (ST4) showed significant differences in comparison to the other stations which appeared to be more affected by pollution. Lysosomal membrane stability test showed that lysosomes of wild saithe and mussels caged in this area for 4-5 weeks are 3 times more stable in ST4 than in ST1, ST2 & ST3. Saithe AOX activities and Vvp were at its lowest in ST4, mussels showing the highest AOX activity 0.5 and 2 km away (ST1 & ST2) from oil platform. Histopathology revealed strong liver vesiculation in saithe from the three stations in the platform vicinity. In caged cod, hepatic vascularisation was lowest in ST1 while Vv of basophilic cells in mussel digestive glands increased along the gradient. In conclusion, the battery of biomarkers applied was able to detect significant differences between reference and pollutant exposed stations and therefore biomarkers should be considered useful tools in biomonitoring of pelagic ecosystems. Partially funded by Spanish Ministry of Sci. and Technol. (REN2000-1973-E), Spanish Ministry of Education (AMB99-0324) and European Commission (BEEP project EVK3-CT2000-00025).

Key words: biomarkers, BECPELAG, North Sea, pelagic ecosystems