PAHs and trace metals in marine surficial sediments from the Porcupine Bank (NE Atlantic): A contribution to establishing background concentrations.

Little is known about pollutant concentrations in marine remote areas such as the Porcupine Bank in the NE Atlantic Ocean. Remote locations are much less studied than the more readily accessible coastal areas, nevertheless, are of great importance both to unveil how far human influence has reached and, are more challenging, to infer background concentrations (BCs) of naturally occurring and/or anthropogenic pollutants. Knowledge of contaminant background levels are critical for establishing remediation and management strategies; in addition, background assessment is heavily emphasised in legislative monitoring requirements.

Use of limpets as alternative to mussels in metal pollution monitoring; application in the Canary Islands.

Metal pollution monitoring programs make use of organisms, such as mussels, as biomonitors to evaluate and compare the metal pollution status of coastal areas worldwide. Despite the widespread distribution of mussels of the genus Mytilus, there are places where these organisms are absent or where their abundance is insufficient for biomonitoring purposes, such as in the Canary Islands (Spain). This study considers the use of limpets of the genus Patella as alternative/complementary species in metal pollution monitoring, and compares the bioaccumulation capacity of mussels and limpets collected simultaneously during several sampling campaigns at 11 sampling sites along the continental Spanish Atlantic coastline.

Impact assessment of a large river on the sediments and fish from its continental shelf: using Solea solea as sentinel in the Ebro river mouth (NW Mediterranean, Spain).

Many studies have been carried out along mighty rivers with heavily industrialized watersheds to evaluate pollutants and their effects on freshwater organisms. However, their impact on marine organisms is virtually unknown. In order to cover this gap, Solea solea, one of the most important commercial fish species, together with sediments, were sampled during 2013-2015 offshore from the Ebro Delta river mouth.

Trace Metal Residues in Marine Mussels: A Global Survey.

Pressures from anthropogenic activities are causing degradation of estuarine and coastal ecosystems around the world. Trace metals are key pollutants that are released and can partition in a range of environmental compartments, to be ultimately accumulated in exposed biota. The level of pressure varies with locations and the range and intensity of anthropogenic activities.

Sea snail (Hexaplex trunculus) and sea cucumber (Holothuria polii) as potential sentinel species for organic pollutants and trace metals in coastal ecosystems.

The seasonal bioaccumulation of trace metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorinated pesticides (OCPs) in sea snail (Hexaplex trunculus) and sea cucumber (Holothuria polii) from Mar Menor lagoon were characterised. The highest concentrations of p,p'-DDE were detected in the central and south part of Mar Menor lagoon. However, the highest concentrations of metals in sea snail and holothurians were detected in the influence area of El Beal wadi.

Yellow-legged gull eggs (Larus michahellis) as persistent organic pollutants and trace metal bioindicator for two nearby areas with different human impact.

The concentration of different persistent organic pollutants (POPs including chlorinated and brominated compounds) and trace metals and metalloids (As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Pb, Hg, Ni, and Zn) was examined in eggs from two colonies of yellow-legged gulls. The two colonies are established in Ría de Vigo, Northwest Spain, with a distance between them of only 10 km, one in Vigo town (industrial and harbour activities) and the other in the Cíes Islands in a Natural Park and Marine Protected Area -MPA- (with no known anthropogenic inputs). Statistically significant differences for the two colonies were observed for Hg, the sum of 7 CBs, the sum of DDTs y and the sum of 9 PBDEs, with values that could be causing some toxic effects in the area of the most anthropogenically influenced colony.

A new perspective on marine assessment of metals and organic pollutants: A case study from Bay of Santander.

Pollution assessment is worldwide generally performed based on 'Trend assessment' or 'Status assessment´, and usually requires monitoring programs that should be designed in terms of pollutants to be studied, frequency and locations. Five groups of pollutants: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and trace metals, were selected to evaluate how actual monitoring programs are coping with the evaluation of anthropogenic activities affect the environment and whether use restrictions and laws that ban certain pollutants are being effective. Santander Bay, in Northern Spain, is an industrial area with 250,000 inhabitants and with several rivers discharging into the Bay; those characteristics made the area an adequate location to perform the study.

Ingestion of microplastics by demersal fish from the Spanish Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts.

Microplastic pollution has received increased attention over the last few years. This study documents microplastic ingestion in three commercially relevant demersal fish species from the Spanish Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, the lesser spotted dogfish Scyliorhinus canicula, the European hake Merluccius merluccius and the red mullet Mullus barbatus. Overall 212 fish were examined, 72 dogfish, 12 hakes and 128 red mullets.

Evidence of increased anthropogenic emissions of platinum: time-series analysis of mussels (1991-2011) of an urban beach.

The anthropogenic emissions of Pt to the environment have increased significantly over the past decades, especially after the introduction of the catalytic converters in motor vehicles. In order to check whether this is affecting the levels of this trace metal on living organisms, time-series analysis of freeze-dried soft tissue material of wild mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) covering the period from 1991 to 2001 and collected at an urban beach in the city of Vigo (NW Iberian Peninsula) was conducted. Concentrations ranged from 0.

Influence of mussel biological variability on pollution biomarkers.

This study deals with the identification and characterization of biological variables that may affect some of the biological responses used as pollution biomarkers. With this aim, during the 2012 mussel survey of the Spanish Marine Pollution monitoring program (SMP), at the North-Atlantic coast, several quantitative and qualitative biological variables were measured (corporal and shell indices, gonadal development and reserves composition). Studied biomarkers were antioxidant enzymatic activities (CAT, GST, GR), lipid peroxidation (LPO) and the physiological rates integrated in the SFG biomarker (CR, AE, RR).

An assessment of two decades of trace metals monitoring in wild mussels from the Northwest Atlantic and Cantabrian coastal areas of Spain, 1991-2011.

Since 1991, the Instituto Español de Oceanografía has monitored the concentrations of trace metals in wild mussels from the north (Cantabrian Sea) and northwest (Atlantic) coasts of Spain to define geographical distributions and temporal trends. While Cu, Zn and As concentrations presented fairly uniform geographical distributions, Hg and Pb concentrations were higher in mussels from the Cantabrian sea region as a result of historical anthropogenic activities. Cd, on the other hand, appeared to be more affected by natural processes on the northwest Atlantic coast (i.

Combined use of chemical, biochemical and physiological variables in mussels for the assessment of marine pollution along the N-NW Spanish coast.

This study undertakes an overall assessment of pollution in a large region (over 2500 km of coastline) of the N-NW Spanish coast, by combining the use of biochemical (AChE, GST, GPx) and physiological (SFG) responses to pollution, with chemical analyses in wild mussel populations (Mytilus galloprovincialis). The application of chemical analysis and biological techniques identified polluted sites and quantified the level of toxicity. High levels of pollutants were found in mussel populations located close to major cities and industrialized areas and, in general, average concentrations were higher in the Cantabrian than in the Iberian Atlantic coast.

First measurements of the scope for growth (SFG) in mussels from a large scale survey in the North-Atlantic Spanish coast.

SFG and physiological rates were measured in wild mussels from the Spanish Marine Pollution monitoring program (SMP) in order to determine seawater quality. It consists of 41 stations, covering almost 2500 km of coast, making the SMP the widest-ranging monitoring network in the Iberian Peninsula's Atlantic region. Results of the 2007 and 2008 surveys when 39 sites were sampled: (20 in 2007 and 19 in 2008, being 8 sites sampled both years) were presented.

Chemometric tools to evaluate the spatial distribution of trace metals in surface sediments of two Spanish rías.

A suite of relevant trace metals (Hg, Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn and Ni) was measured in surface sediment samples to assess the environmental situation of the largest two Atlantic Spanish 'rías' (a form of estuaries, ría of Pontevedra, ROP, and ría of Vigo, ROV). The level of contamination originated by these metals was assessed against international guidelines, the threshold effect, ERL, and the midrange effect, ERM. Six unsupervised and supervised multivariate chemometric techniques were applied to model each ría, compare them and select those metals that characterize the samples.

Linking chemical contamination to biological effects in coastal pollution monitoring.

To establish the connection between pollutant levels and their harmful effects on living resources, coastal monitoring programmes have incorporated biological tools, such as the scope for growth (SFG) in marine mussels and benthic macrofauna community indices. Although the relation between oxygen-depleting anthropogenic inputs and the alteration of benthic communities is well described, the effects of chemical pollutants are unknown because they are not expected to favour any particular taxa. In this study, the combined efforts of five research teams involved in the investigative monitoring of marine pollution allowed the generation of a multiyear data set for Ría de Vigo (NW Iberian Peninsula).

Comparison of the 2000 and 2005 spatial distributions of heavy metals in wild mussels from the North-Atlantic Spanish coast.

Spatial distributions of Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn in Mytilus galloprovincialis in 41 sampling sites in the North-Atlantic Spanish coast were monitored in 2000 and 2005 to assess the coastal environmental pollution. A pool of mussel soft tissue was prepared using 50 or more individuals representing the available size range. Samples were grounded, homogenised and quantified by atomic absorption spectrometry.