Bivalve mollusks in metal pollution studies: From bioaccumulation to biomonitoring

• Published in: Chemosphere (Oxford) Vol. 93; no. 2; pp. 201 - 208
• Main Authors: Zuykov, Michael, Pelletier, Emilien, Harper, David A.T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animal Shells - abnormalities; Animal Shells - metabolism; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Bioaccumulation; bioavailability; Biological and medical sciences; biomarkers; Biomonitoring; Bivalve mollusks; Bivalvia; Bivalvia - anatomy & histology; Bivalvia - metabolism; Chemical monitoring; crystallization; deformation; ecosystems; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on protozoa and invertebrates; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Environmental Pollutants - metabolism; environmental quality; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Metals; Metals - metabolism; monitoring; pollutants; sex differentiation disorders; Terminology as Topic; toxicity; Biomonitoring; Bivalve mollusks; Bioaccumulation; Metals; Chemical monitoring; Scanning electron microscopy; Crystallization; Alteration; Biological marker; Biological indicator; Review; Metal; Surface structure; Aquatic environment; Pollutant; Tissue; Bivalvia; Morphology; Shell(anatomy); Invertebrata; Mollusca; Biological accumulation
• ISSN: 0045-6535; 1879-1298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2013.05.001

•Bivalve mollusks are good applicable in metal monitoring studies.•No drastic effects of accumulated metals on the health of bivalves were documented.•Shells cannot be reliable used for reconstruction of the pollution history.•Biomarkers provide common information about unfavorable environmental conditions.•Biomonitoring of metal pollution using bivalves is not far advanced. Contemporary environmental challenges have emphasized the need to critically assess the use of bivalve mollusks in chemical monitoring (identification and quantification of pollutants) and biomonitoring (estimation of environmental quality). Many authors, however, have considered these approaches within a single context, i.e., as a means of chemical (e.g. metal) monitoring. Bivalves are able to accumulate substantial amounts of metals from ambient water, but evidence for the drastic effects of accumulated metals (e.g. as a TBT-induced shell deformation and imposex) on the health of bivalves has not been documented. Metal bioaccumulation is a key tool in biomonitoring; bioavailability, bioaccumulation, and toxicity of various metals in relation to bivalves are described in some detail including the development of biodynamic metal bioaccumulation model. Measuring metal in the whole-body or the tissue of bivalves themselves does not accurately represent true contamination levels in the environment; these data are critical for our understanding of contaminant trends at sampling sites. Only rarely has metal bioaccumulation been considered in combination with data on metal concentrations in parts of the ecosystem, observation of biomarkers and environmental parameters. Sclerochemistry is in its infancy and cannot be reliably used to provide insights into the pollution history recorded in shells. Alteration processes and mineral crystallization on the inner shell surface are presented here as a perspective tool for environmental studies.