Evaluation of the mussel Perna perna as a biomonitor of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure and effects

The mussel Perna perna was used to monitor and assess areas suspected of oil contamination by transplanting animals from unimpacted to impacted sites and vice versa. The deployment lasted for three months during which total PAH were measured in seawater samples collected every 15 days. PAH concentrations were determined in mussel tissue monthly. The lysosomal neutral red assay and the condition index were used as biomarkers of the adverse biological effects. The PAH concentration in mussels at unimpacted sites, prior to deployment was ca. 100 μg kg−1 but increased to 300 μg kg−1 after three months at the contaminated site. Mussels transplanted to the uncontaminated site showed a decrease from 380 to 80 μg kg−1. Significant changes in lysosomal stability occurred within one month of the beginning of the transposition; in contrast condition indexes were not correlated with the observed changes in PAH concentration.