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mutagenic damage (frequency of micronuclei); they were measured in flounder ( P. l e su s ),
eelpout ( Zoarces viviparus ), and blue mussel ( Mytilus spp.).
De Kock and Kramer (1994) developed the concept of active biomonitoring based on
comparing the chemical and/or biological properties of samples collected from one popu-
lation that, after randomization and translocation, have been exposed to different environ-
mental conditions at monitoring sites. On the other hand, passive biomonitoring consists
in analyzing (pollutant concentrations and biomarkers for instance) samples collected
from the field (see also Chapter 7).
Field experiments always give a series of results that have to be statistically or hierarchi-
cally treated and integrated with environmental data to find the main sources producing a
change in the measured biomarkers whatever the type of monitoring (active or passive) used.
Authors use several types of treatments: principal component analysis (PCA, already used
in many ecological studies), integrated biomarker response (IBR), and the expert system.
Roméo et al. (2003) established a comparison between resident and transplanted mussels
along the NW Atlantic coast (France). Mussels ( M. galloprovincialis) were collected in June
(after 4 months' caging) and October (after 8 months' caging). A PCA was performed with
the chemical (metal concentrations; unfortunately, measured PAH and PCB concentrations
in mussels could not be included in PCA) and biochemical (catalase, GST and AChE activi-
ties, and TBARS level) data. The evaluations of the resident and transplanted mussels col-
lected in June allowed them to be separated into three groups: resident mussels from La
Rochelle with high metal and TBARS levels, resident mussels from Baie de L'Aiguillon
with a very high condition index, and resident mussels from Fier d'Ars (less polluted
site) and transplanted mussels at La Rochelle and Baie de L'Aiguillon with low TBARS
and AChE activities. Strong seasonal variation from June to October of all parameters was
noted. Mussels transplanted to La Rochelle appeared to be the most “polluted” in their
pollutant concentrations and biochemical responses; moreover, the La Rochelle site had
the highest concentration of organics in sediments of all sites. The choice of Fier d'Ars as a
reference site may be questionable because some of the biomarker responses of the mus-
sels were higher than expected there, although pollutants in mussels and sediment were
present at the lowest concentrations measured. PCA presents, according to Guerlet (2007),
several advantages: the possibility of bringing together the biological and physicochemical
data without the latter influencing the profile of the PCA (illustrative variables); possible
application without any a priori information on the gradient of stress; reduced effect on
discriminative power in the case of addition of redundant parameters.
Beliaeff and Burgeot (2002) have established a simple method of summarizing bio-
marker responses, the IBR, which simplifies their interpretation in biomonitoring pro-
grams. They worked with two species belonging to different phyla, the mussel M. edulis
and the flounder P. l e su s . They underlined that the selection of an appropriate battery of
biomarkers (such as GST, catalase, and AChE activities measured on mussels; EROD and
AChE activities as well as DNA adducts on flounders) can avoid false-negative responses
obtained with a single biomarker and allow information to be summarized in the form
of a multivariate data set. Damiens et al. (2007) determined pollutant concentrations and
biomarker levels in transplanted mussels ( M. galloprovincialis ) and established IBR. Three
experiments of 1 month's caging at sea (NW Mediterranean Sea, France) were conducted in
2004 and 2005. Pollutant concentrations, displayed as star plots, were compared to IBR star
plots. Visualization was thus possible between sites, and there was a correlation between
the copper gradient measured in the transplanted mussels and IBR variation. In 2004
(Figure 2.3), the agreement between the copper gradient and the PCB gradient measured
in caged mussels and IBR variation was good, whereas the PAH gradient did not seem to
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