O. Cattani et al., Biomonitoring of mercury pollution in a wetland near Ravenna, Italy by translocated bivalves (Mytilus galloprovincialis), ENV TOX CH, 18(8), 1999, pp. 1801-1805
An active biomonitoring experiment using mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis
) was performed in Pialassa Baiona, a mercury-polluted coastal wetland near
Ravenna, Italy. Three stations (A, B, and C) were selected along the south
to north axis. Following a 52-d field exposure, organisms transplanted in
the southernmost polluted area (station A) showed mean mercury concentratio
n values of 660 ng/g (dry weight), 4.4 times the initial background level,
and were still accumulating mercury. Mussels in both the central area (stat
ion B) and the northern area (station C) seemed to reach a steady state wit
h mean mercury concentration values of 323 and 412 ng/g, respectively. This
field experiment is the first study carried out in the Ravenna wetlands to
evaluate mercury bioavailability in this environment. Finally, the efficie
ncy of the population of Mytilus galloprovincialis selected for the field e
xperiment as mercury bioaccumulators was tested in a laboratory experiment
that revealed that up to 135 mu g/g (dry weight) could be reached after 77
d of exposure to mercury-polluted water.