Use of biomarkers in resident organisms from Ushuaia Bay (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina) as a tool for environmental monitoring.

AMIN; GIARRATANO; DUARTE; COMOGLIO

Porto - Portugal

Congreso; SETAC Europe, 17Th annual Meeting; 2007

SETAC Europe

Ushuaia Bay has been impacted by anthropogenic activities in the last two decades. Heavy metals in sediments and biomarkers (LPO; CAT; SOD) in mantle/gonad and digestive gland of resident mussels and limpets were analyzed, in five coastal locations in winter and spring 2005. All LPO values were ranged from 2 to 12nM MDA. An increment during springtime was observed only for mussels. Limpets’ LPO have exhibited moderate variations, nevertheless differences were found among stations. In mussels, CAT was higher in digestive gland (major in spring) than in mantle, where an unclear tendency was observed. Limpets’ CAT activity was in the same order for both tissues (5 to 25 U CAT), being upper for gonads in spring and for digestive gland in winter. SOD activity for mussels showed the highest values in winter (up to 14 U SOD), while in limpets was up to 10 fold higher, maintaining the same tendency. Responses appear to be related with heavy metals in sediments. However, these responses could be masking for environmental changes and/or physiological adaptations. Mechanisms of resistance of native organisms should be considered in further studies to validate the use of biomarkers