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Explora: Environment
and Resource Trace elements in Mediterranean mussels

1. Introduction in the areas where they live. Their relatively long lifespan
allows for the assessment of the long-term impact of
The Mediterranean Sea, a semi-enclosed and highly persistent pollutants and reflects the bioavailability of
anthropized basin, has been under increasing pressure from chemicals. Furthermore, they can be easily translocated
human activities since ancient times. Industrialization, from one site to another. These aspects make mussels ideal
1,2
urbanization, intensified agriculture, and tourism have biological indicators for assessing the quality of marine
led to widespread pollution of the marine environment, ecosystems and the level of contamination in an area. 4,11
with significant repercussions on ecosystems and human
health. The relatively closed nature of the Mediterranean However, monitoring activities in the Mediterranean
1,3
Sea, along with its high population density, makes this are not without challenges. Environmental contamination
area particularly vulnerable to environmental pollution. is a complex and dynamic phenomenon influenced by
1,2
Monitoring environmental pollution helps identify numerous factors, and understanding it often requires
the most critical areas and assess the impact of human significant financial resources. Furthermore, environmental
activities on marine biodiversity. This effort enables monitoring involves numerous stakeholders (institutions,
4,5
the implementation of conservation and restoration research organizations, associations) whose activities
measures for natural habitats. Many pollutants present should be better coordinated. In the author’s view, the
5-7
in the sea can accumulate in marine organisms and enter absence of common directives or strategies among the
the food chain, posing health risks to humans through Mediterranean states hinders the implementation of
the consumption of contaminated seafood. An accurate large-scale monitoring plans. In addition, in many cases,
assessment of the environmental status is fundamental there are insufficient historical data series to assess long-
to promoting sustainable economic development and term trends. From this perspective, it is important to
avoiding the long-term compromise of natural resources. 6-8 identify common strategies that contribute to sustainable
development policies across the Mediterranean region,
The main sources of anthropogenic contamination in
the Mediterranean include industrial discharges, which through enhanced monitoring of environmental quality.
release organic chemicals and trace elements, as well as Mediterranean mussels (Order Mytilida; Family
urban pollution, which results in sewage discharges, solid Mytilidae; Genus Mytilus; Linnaeus, 1758) are often used to
waste, and the release of pathogenic microorganisms. In monitor the presence and bioavailability of trace elements
addition, intensive agriculture contributes to the spread such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and other
of pesticides and fertilizers, and soil erosion. Increasing toxic elements arising from industrial activities, urban
maritime transport also poses risks, such as accidental discharges, and atmospheric deposition. They also provide
spills of hydrocarbons or the release of harmful substances relevant information on the presence of petroleum-derived
from ships, while tourism activities contribute to pollution substances origin such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
through detergents and plastic waste. 1,8 or mixtures of aliphatic hydrocarbons, as well as persistent
organic pollutants. Compounds such as polychlorinated
Monitoring strategies may include the chemical
characterization of abiotic matrices through the analysis biphenyls, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, and dioxins,
of water and sediments, the use of biological models although banned in many countries, persist in the
(bioindicators) to estimate the bioaccumulation of environment and can bioaccumulate in mussel tissues
contaminants in the tissues of sentinel organisms, and the and along the food chain. Furthermore, mussels have
application of mathematical models to predict pollutant recently been found to be useful for monitoring emerging
dispersion and assess their impact on different components contaminants, such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and
microplastics, which represent new challenges for marine
of the marine ecosystem. 4,9,10 Among these methods, the use ecosystems and human health. 4,11-13
of mussels as sentinel organisms offers notable advantages.
Mussels can actively bioaccumulate various pollutants Trace elements (e.g., arsenic, cadmium, copper,
and provide early biological and biochemical signals in mercury, lead, and zinc) are among the most investigated
response to multiple stresses. Widely distributed along pollutants in terms of bioaccumulation in bivalve
the Mediterranean coasts, mussels are found in natural mollusks. As natural constituents of the Earth’s crust,
environments, on farms, and on anthropic structures such trace elements are widely distributed in water bodies
as offshore installations. Mussels feed by filtering seawater, and exhibit measurable baseline levels in the tissues of
concentrating a wide range of substances in their tissues, aquatic organisms, including bivalve mollusks. Since the
from organic particles to chemical contaminants. As sessile early studies on the bioaccumulation of trace elements
organisms, mussels cannot escape adverse environmental in Mediterranean mussels, the presence of important
conditions, making them ideal indicators of contamination seasonal fluctuations in baseline natural levels has been

Volume 2 Issue 2 (2025) 2 doi: 10.36922/eer.8078