Abstract
The objective of this study was to develop an integrative approach in ecotoxicology (from biomarkers to population genetics) to assess the ecological status of fish populations. Flounders (Platichthys flesus) collected after the spawning season in the heavily polluted Seine estuary were compared with the moderately polluted Bay of Douarnenez. The muscle energetic reserves were highly depleted in Seine vs. Douarnenez fish. The Seine fish displaying a reduced capacity to manage the oxidative stress and a higher energetic metabolism. An increase in the content of muscle membrane phospholipids (sphingomyelin, phosphatidylserine, free sterols) was detected in the Seine vs. Douarnenez fish. The data integration allowed to hypothesize relationships between membrane phospholipids, xenobiotic metabolism, bioenergetics, and antioxidant defence. The genetic diversity considering neutral markers was maintained in the heavily polluted Seine population compared with the Douarnenez population. Finally, we suggest that the high physiological cost of tolerance to toxicants in the Seine flounder population could compromise its capacity to respond in the future to an additional stressor like warming waters in shallow depth. Thus, this population could be submitted to an ecological risk.
Highlights
Estuaries are affected by numerous anthropogenic pressures, e.g., diffuse chemical pollution and dredging inducing an alteration of the water quality, eutrophication increasing the risk of hypoxia, and expansion of harbours, industries, and cities reducing intertidal areas
This study confirmed the pertinence of the European flounder (Platichthys flesus) to assess the environmental status of coastal zones and estuaries
The integration of the main markers in heavily vs. moderately contaminated fish allowed to hypothesise a relationship between the levels of sphingomyelin—phosphatidylserine—free sterols, and the fish capacity to manage the oxidative stress and to metabolize xenobiotics
Summary
Estuaries are affected by numerous anthropogenic pressures, e.g., diffuse chemical pollution and dredging inducing an alteration of the water quality, eutrophication increasing the risk of hypoxia, and expansion of harbours, industries, and cities reducing intertidal areas. These shallow estuarine ecosystems are exposed to heat stress related to global climate change, and are increasingly subjected to multistress [1,2,3,4,5]. The flounder (Platichthys flesus) is a major sentinel species to explore the environmental status of European estuarine ecosystems. Fitness loss (reduced fish growth and condition index, weak fecundity), modification in gene expression patterns (alterations in apoptosis, energy metabolism and immunity pathways; responses to oxidative stress; induction of detoxification), and “biomarker” signals have been detected in flounder populations located in chronically contaminated environments [10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17]
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