Biomarker studies of the soft-shell clam (Mya arenaria) in the Saguenay Fjord: research results (1997-2006)
This paper presents the major findings of annual field outings conducted from 1997 to 2006 in Saguenay Fjord intertidal areas as well as those located in proximity with the St. Lawrence River estuary. Study objectives sought to enhance our understanding of pollution pressures incurred on the soft shell clam, Mya arenaria, endemic to mud flats of these regions. By measuring the responses of a battery of biomarkers in whole animals, organs or cells, we demonstrated various adverse effects that are likely linked to chemical contamination sources (municipal, industrial, portuary, non point and atmospheric) intrinsic to the Saguenay area. Based on site and pollution features proper to each, health problems were observed in clams that included effects on their reproductive system (endocrine disruption events linked to estrogenic substances, metals or TBT), on their immune system (increase or decrease of immunocompetence assessed by phagocytic performance of hemocytes), as well as cumulative effects of pollutants, shown either by upward or downward responses of defense biomarkers ((e.g., metallothioneins, CYP1A1, glutathion S‐transferase), damage biomarkers (e.g., increase in DNA strand breaks, increase in inflammatory cyclo-oxygenase activity, lipid peroxidation) and metrics biomarkers (e.g., growth inhibition, lower gonado-somatic index). In pollution-impacted sites, clams further displayed a greater expenditure of mitochondrial energy (measured by mitochondrial electron transport in gonad or digestive gland), an energy loss that could possibly be augmented under thermic stress conditions linked to climate change. This long-term biomarker work establishes Mya arenaria as a useful bioindicator species to appraise Saguenay Fjord water quality as reflected by the diverse chemical insults to which these invertebrates are exposed in an ecosystem still struggling with multiple contamination inputs. Future studies should contribute to strengthen our knowledge related to cumulative risk issues linked to the fjord’s chemical pollution.