The field application of cellular and physiological biomarkers, in the mussel Mytilus edulis, in conjunction with early life stage bioassays and adult histopathology

Indigenous and deployed mussels, Mytilus edulis, mere examined at sites on the Tees estuary. an industrialized region of North-east England, Four site s were sampled for water and biota, two of which had been recently exposed to an acute effluent discharge, Mussels were deployed for 24 h before retur n to the laboratory. Tests for lysosomal stability were conducted on the ha emolymph, Heart rate activity was measured, Bioassays were conducted on lar vae from indigenous and deployed mussels, Clean site (Whitsand Bay, South-w est England) larvae were exposed to the sampled water. Tissue was preserved for histopathology, Lysosomal stability, heart rate activity, larval bioas says and histopathology showed significant differences between sites. Corre lations between these techniques were observed. There is a need for biomark ers that can rapidly provide sensitive environmental data on marine organis ms in a cost-effective manner. These results are encouraging for the contin ued application of these biomarkers as initial indicators of environmental quality. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.