Relationships between intertidal clam population and health status of the soft-shell clam Mya arenaria in the St. Lawrence Estuary and Saguenay Fjord (Québec, Canada)

The purpose of this study was to examine the impacts of anthropogenic activity on the health status of intertidal clam populations of the Saguenay Fjord and the St. Lawrence Estuary (Québec, Canada). Clams were collected during low tide at sites subject to direct contamination and at sites far from...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environment international 2008-01, Vol.34 (1), p.30-43
Main Authors: Gagné, F., Blaise, C., Pellerin, J., Fournier, M., Durand, M.J., Talbot, A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Applied ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Markers
Biomarkers
Biomarkers - analysis
Cell Count
DNA Breaks
Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution
Electron Transport
Electron Transport - physiology
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
Germ Cells
Germ Cells - physiology
Glutathione Transferase
Glutathione Transferase - analysis
Gonads
Gonads - chemistry
Hemocytes
Hemocytes - physiology
Invertebrates
Life Sciences
Lipid Peroxidation
Lipids
Lipids - analysis
Male
Mitochondria
Mitochondria - metabolism
Models, Statistical
Mollusca
Mya
Mya - chemistry
Mya - physiology
Mya arenaria
Mya arenaria clams
Organotin Compounds
Organotin Compounds - analysis
Phagocytes
Phagocytes - immunology
Population
Quebec
Toxic stress
Toxicology
Trialkyltin Compounds
Trialkyltin Compounds - analysis
Vitellogenins
Vitellogenins - analysis
Water Pollution, Chemical
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Summary:The purpose of this study was to examine the impacts of anthropogenic activity on the health status of intertidal clam populations of the Saguenay Fjord and the St. Lawrence Estuary (Québec, Canada). Clams were collected during low tide at sites subject to direct contamination and at sites far from human activity. Clams were analyzed for tributyltin and dibutyltin total levels and toxic stress (glutathione S-transferase, gonadal lipid peroxidation and DNA strand breaks), immunocompetence (phagocytic activity, hemocyte count and viability), reproduction (gonado-somatic index, gamete maturation, and vitellogenin-like proteins), energy status (temperature-dependent mitochondrial electron transport, and gonad lipids), and individual status (age, condition factor, and growth index). These responses were compared against population characteristics such as live clam density, number of empty shells, and sex ratio. The results show that clam density decreased with distance from the estuary (high salinity level) to upstream of the fjord (low salinity). There was no clear relationship between the number of empty shells and distance or site quality. Clam density values corrected against distance were significantly correlated with hemocyte viability, phagocytic activity, mitochondrial electron transport (MET), DNA damage in gonad, and temperature-dependent mitochondrial electron transport activity. A canonical analysis of the various groups of biomarkers revealed that population metrics were more strongly related with immunocompetence, followed by energy status and temperature-dependent mitochondrial electron transport activity. However, toxic stress biomarkers were strongly associated with energy status and reproduction. This was further confirmed by non-linear modeling using adaptive artificial neural networks (genetic selection and back propagation learning paradigms), where the following parameters were able to predict population parameters with
ISSN:0160-4120
1873-6750
DOI:10.1016/j.envint.2007.06.010