Influence of mussel biological variability on pollution biomarkers

A great geographical variability was observed for the biological variables, which was mainly linked to the differences in food availability along the studied region. An inverse relationship between antioxidant enzymes and the nutritional status of the organism was evidenced, whereas LPO was positively related to nutritional status and, therefore, with higher metabolic costs, with their associated ROS generation. Mussel condition was also inversely related to CR, and therefore to SFG, suggesting that mussels keep an “ecological memory” from the habitat where they have been collected. No overall relationship was observed between pollution and biomarkers, but a significant overall effect of biological variables on both biochemical and physiological biomarkers was evidenced. It was concluded that when a wide range of certain environmental factors, as food availability, coexist in the same monitoring program, it determines a great variability in mussel populations which mask the effect of contaminants on biomarkers.