Assessment of the marine ecotoxic state in the Moroccan coastal area Anza-Taghazout following the installation of two wastewater treatment plants: a multibiomarker study using Mytilus galloprovincialis

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2022-02, Vol.29 (8), p.11718-11729
• Main Authors: EL Mourabit, Youssef, Agnaou, Mustapha, Ait Alla, Aicha, Moukrim, Abdellatif
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetylcholinesterase; Animals; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Biomarkers; Bivalvia; Catalase; Coastal zone; Coasts; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental science; Environmental stress; Evaluation; Glutathione; Glutathione transferase; Malondialdehyde; Marine environment; Mollusks; Mytilus; Mytilus galloprovincialis; Physiological responses; Pollutants; Pollution sources; Research Article; Shellfish; Soft tissues; Stress response; Waste Water Technology; Wastewater treatment; Wastewater treatment plants; Water Management; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Water Pollution Control; Water Purification; Water treatment
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-16046-z

The aim of the present study is the first to evaluate the ecotoxic state of the marine environment in Anza-Taghazout coasts (Morocco) after installation of two wastewater treatment plants using a natural population of marine bivalves Mytilus galloprovincialis . These coasts are exposed to many discharges generating, thus, different sources of pollutants. These pollutants can modulate the physiological responses of marine bivalves to environmental stress. In this context, a multibiomarker approach consisting of a battery of biomarker evaluation was used to assess the response of these species to stress. In the whole soft tissues of M. galloprovincialis , four biomarkers were evaluated as follows: acetylcholinesterase (AChE), glutathione S-transferase (GST), catalase (Cat), and malondialdehyde activity (MDA). In parallel, physico-chemical parameters were measured in the marine water of Anza-Taghazout within three selected sites: S 1 considered as “hotspot” located at Anza city; S 2 located near of Aourir city; and the third site, S 3 “reference” located in Imouran beach. Our results showed that activities of both glutathione S-transferase and catalase were higher in M. galloprovincialis collected from site S 1 , but high values of malondialdehyde and acetylcholinesterase activities were observed successively at S 3 and S 2 . Application of integrated biomarker response (IBR) index was suitable for classifying the stress response in the M. galloprovincialis but did not allow to evaluate the level of the xenobiotic exposure in the studied sites. The statistical results did not show any significant differences between the three studied sites, and therefore, S 1 has recently become clean due to the installation of two wastewater treatment plants.