Can We Use Zebra and Quagga Mussels for Biomonitoring Contaminants in the Niagara River?

Abstract

We compared contaminants in zebra and quagga mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and Dreissena bugensis) of two different size classes from sites within the Niagara River to determine if the two species and two size classes can be used to monitor contaminants. Composite samples (i.e., at least 50 individuals) were analysed for 7 trace metals, total PCBs, selected organochlorine pesticides, chlorinated benzenes, and dioxins and furans. ANOVAs and MANOVAs showed that metal tissue concentrations varied significantly among sites, species, and size classes (P < 0.05). At sites where metal concentrations differed between species, zebra mussels had higher concentrations than quagga mussels. Similarly, larger mussels (i.e., 16-25 mm) generally had higher tissue concentrations than smaller mussels (<15 mm length). However, differences in tissue concentrations between size classes were present only for Cd, Cu and Mn and were infrequent, making these results inconclusive. For organic contaminants ANCOVAs and MANCOVAs using lipid concentration as a covariate revealed significant differences in tissue concentrations between the three sites, whereas differences between size classes were modest (P = 0.035). The ANOVA using individual parameters did not show a significant difference in tissue concentrations between the two size classes. In general, mussel tissue concentrations among stations (up to 7 stations throughout the river), were similar for Pb, Zn, Hg and Ni using data separated by species and size class. Concentrations of Cu, Mn and Cd were variable throughout the upper and lower Niagara. Tissue concentrations of α-BHC, 1,2,3 and 1,2,4 trichlorobenzene were similar in quagga mussels collected from 8 stations from the Canadian and American side of the river, whereas concentrations of total PCBs, octachlorostyrene, 1,2,3,4-tetrachlorobenzene, pentachlorobenzene and hexachlorobenzene were higher in quagga mussels from the American side of the upper river.

Seasonal and size-related variation of subcellular biomarkers in quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis) inhabiting sites affected by moderate contamination with complex mixtures of pollutants

“…This implies that larger/older mussels even at relatively 43 low pollution pressure are more affected by chemical stress than smaller individuals. 1 Additionally, at relatively low concentration of pollutants the higher growth dilution 2 characteristic for younger individuals may partially reduce the accumulation rates of 3 pollutants as reported by Richman and Somers (2005). 4 Biomarker responses of D. bugensis samples obtained from the slightly polluted habitats of 5 Lake Balaton showed strong seasonality and size-dependent correlation in October, 6 coinciding with the end of the shipping season.…”

“…For in situ pollution assessment of freshwater habitats bivalves, including the zebra mussel 6 (Dreissena polymorpha) proved to be suitable bioindicator organisms due to their widespread 7 distribution, sedentary and filter-feeding nature and their fairly good tolerance to physico- invasion of quagga mussel (Dreissena bugensis) in the last decades which shifted their 13 dominance over the formerly established zebra mussel populations (Mills et al 1996; Bij de 14 Vaate et al 2014), therefore, the already established biomarker assays should be performed on 15 this new species as well. 16 Based on the wealth of knowledge of previous researches of the field, the main goal of our 17 study was to provide data by the in situ assessment on: i. the seasonal variability of selected 18 biomarkers, known to be influenced by reproductive cycle, temperature, food availability and 19 quality.…”

Interspecies comparison of selected pollution biomarkers in dreissenid spp. inhabiting pristine and moderately polluted sites

“…However, the widespread invasion of the quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis), resulting in an overgrowth of the quagga mussels within dreissenid populations (Mills et al, 1996;Bij de Vaate et al, 2014) calls for knowledge on the modulation of the routinely used biomarkers also in quagga mussels in response to anthropogenic pollutants. Interspecies differences in bioaccumulation of pollutants for the two dreissenid species have already been reported (Richman and Somers, 2005;Mathews et al, 2015). This variability was thought to be related to differences in both habitat preference characteristics and in physiological attributes of the two species such as energy consumption, filtration-and growth rate (Veltman et al, 2008;Le et al, 2011).…”

“…D. bugensis was proven to allocate more energy to soft tissue relative to shell length (Roe and MacIsaac, 1997), has higher assimilation efficiency (Baldwin et al, 2002), grows faster (Baldwin et al, 2002;Karatayev et al, 2011;Le et al, 2011), filters at a higher rate (Diggins, 2001;Veltman et al, 2008) and was reported to have a lower respiration rate (Stoeckmann, 2003). Interspecies differences were also found for the accumulation of metals and organic contaminants, in general with higher contaminant burdens in D. polymorpha (Rutzke et al, 2000;Richman and Somers, 2005;Schäfer et al, 2012;Matthews et al, 2015). In the meantime, while several studies have addressed the interspecies variability in biomarker responses to chemical stress in different aquatic invertebrates, in the case of dreissenids these issues have seldom been addressed.…”

A dominance shift from the zebra mussel to the invasive quagga mussel may alter the trophic transfer of metals

“…Therefore, a shift in dominance from established to newly invading mussel species may alter the trophic transfer of metals to native predators. Peer reviewed literature focussing on potential differences in accumulation of metals between the soft tissues of the quagga and zebra mussel is scarce, often inconclusive and limited to North America (Johns and Timmerman, 1998;Rutzke et al, 2000;Richman and Somers, 2005;Le et al, 2011). Moreover, studies reporting metal concentrations in quagga mussels are particularly rare.…”