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Preliminary inter-port study of the quality of environments using physiological responses of invertebrates exposed to chronic trace element and organic contamination in Corsica (Mediterranean Sea)

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Abstract

Port areas are socio-ecosystems impacted by chronic mixture pollution. Some marine species benefit from living there and may be studied to define the ecological state of such environments. In this study, the risks of chronic chemical contamination and its consequences on three marine molluscs were evaluated in North Corsica (France) port areas. Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, tubular sea cucumber Holothuria tubulosa and Mediterranean limpet Patella sp. were sampled in three port areas and a reference location. A set of biomarkers was analysed to evaluate oxidative stress, detoxification, energetic metabolism, neurotoxicity, immunity and bioaccumulation (metallic trace elements and organic pollutants). The objectives were to assess pollution-induced effects in organisms, to determine the best bioindicator species for the selected locations and to validate a “pool” sampling technique (when the analysis is done on a single pool of samples and not on individual samples). The results validate the sampling techniques as “pool” for management purposes. St-Florent was demonstrated as the most contaminated location. All the other locations present a low contamination, below the recommended threshold values (for metallic trace elements and organic pollutants). Finally, the limpet appears to be the best bioindicator for the selected locations. Mussel and sea cucumber are inappropriate due to their absence in this oligotrophic region and the lack of responses observed, respectively.

Highlights

  • Limpet is a pertinent bioindicator for North Corsica ports areas monitoring.

  • Contamination in North Corsica ports is low compared to other Mediterranean ports.

  • The “pool” sampling technique could be used to obtain reliable results at lower costs.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Mr B. Pantalacci, manager of the shellfish farm SARL Etang de Diane, and his employees who provided mussels.

Funding

This work was supported by the “QUAlity of the marine environment in the Mediterranean POrt areas” (QUAMPO) project, funded by the “Fonds Européen pour les Affaires Maritimes et la Pêche” (FEAMP) - European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) [grant number PFEA800219DM0940001, 2019].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés (UMR7266), La Rochelle Université, 02 rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000, La Rochelle, France

    Marion Pillet, Mathilde Dabrowski, Valérie Huet, Carine Churlaud & Hélène Thomas

  2. STAtion de REcherches Sous-marines et Océanographiques, Punta Revellata, BP33, 20260, Calvi, France

    Marion Pillet, Michel Marengo, Lovina Fullgrabe, Michèle Leduc, Quentin Fontaine & Pierre Lejeune

  3. Centre de Documentation, de Recherche et d’Expérimentations sur les Pollutions Accidentelles des Eaux, 715 rue Alain Colas, CS 41836, 29218, Brest Cedex 2, France

    Stéphane Le Floch

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  1. Marion Pillet
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Contributions

MP: Conceptualisation, methodology, validation, data collection, formal analyses, investigation, supervision, writing. MD: Methodology, data collection, formal analyses. MM: Conceptualisation, methodology, validation, data collection, supervision, project administration, funding acquisition. LF: Writing. ML: Methodology, data collection. QF: Formal analyses. SLF: Methodology, formal analyses. VH: Formal analyses. CC: Formal analyses. PL: Conceptualisation, funding acquisition. HT: Supervision, project administration, funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Marion Pillet.

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Pillet, M., Dabrowski, M., Marengo, M. et al. Preliminary inter-port study of the quality of environments using physiological responses of invertebrates exposed to chronic trace element and organic contamination in Corsica (Mediterranean Sea). Ecotoxicology 32, 243–260 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-023-02635-w

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