Biomonitoring

Several decades after World Wars I and II, sea-dumped munitions are now corroding and leaking, representing a hazard not only for marine ecosystems but also for humans. The blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, serves as an ideal and integrative biomonitoring system to unequivocally identify and quantify all toxic chemicals that leak into the marine environment and enter marina biota.

Blue mussels are suitable for both medium- and long-term monitoring of munition chemicals, because they are filter-feeding organisms that filter many liters of water every day. As a result, they concentrate chemicals in their tissues. Their ability to metabolise organic contaminants is low relative to other marine organisms. They are robust and can survive moderate levels of different pollutants. As blue mussels are sedentary, i.e. stationary though life, they reflect their local ambient seawater conditions. Moreover, repeated sampling of naturally occurring specimens is possible, and mussels are ideally suited to be transplanted to test areas for controlled biomonitoring. Beyond that, as primary consumers, many bivalves are important sea food species and can be used as indicators for the entry of toxic substances into the marine food chain.