Study of Microplastics and Inorganic Contaminants in Mussels from the Montenegrin Coast, Adriatic Sea

Sara De Simone,Dimitrios C. Zografopoulos,Ana Perošević-Bajčeta,Valentina Mussi,Romeo Beccherelli,Danijela Joksimović

doi:10.3390/jmse9050544

Abstract

Mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) collected at three locations in Boka Kotorska Bay, on the Montenegrin Adriatic coast, were analyzed for the first time by optical and Raman microscopy to detect microplastics (MPs) and other emerging contaminants in their soft tissues. Concentrations of six trace metals (Cu, Zn, Mn, Fe, Cd, and Hg) were also measured in the same samples by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Mussels from a location near the urban area of Kotor were found to exhibit the highest content of MPs and other pollutants originating from anthropogenic sources, while farmed mussels showed higher carotenoid as well as nylon content. The hypothesis of MPs acting as a possible secondary route of trace metals ingress in mussels, a thus far scarcely studied topic, was evaluated based on a comparative analysis of the obtained results. In this context, it was noticed that nylon filaments originating from mussel farming equipment might contribute to higher trace metal content. The results showed that the simultaneous analysis of different contaminants in mussels can be a significant step forward in marine environment pollution monitoring and the assessment of human health risks associated with the consumption of contaminated seafood.

Highlights

IntroductionAs filter-feeding organisms, mussels accumulate a wide range of contaminants from their environment, including different trace metals, microplastics (MPs), pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and other sorts of emerging contaminants [4,5,6,7,8,9,10]
The most intense band (v1 ) at 1520 cm−1 comes from C=C vibrations of the polyene chain, which depends on π-electron conjugation and molecular configuration, while the v2 band at about 1155 cm−1 is associated with C-C stretching coupled with C-C in-plane bending modes [38]
The hypothesis of MPs acting as a possible secondary route of trace metals ingress in mussels was evaluated based on the results of the combined analysis, which involved the measurement of trace metal contents via atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) and the identification of MPs and other contaminants by micro-Raman spectroscopy

Summary

Introduction

As filter-feeding organisms, mussels accumulate a wide range of contaminants from their environment, including different trace metals, microplastics (MPs), pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and other sorts of emerging contaminants [4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. They are known for their bioconcentration ability, since they cannot regulate individual concentrations of metals [11] or other pollutants, for instance, MPs [9]. To identify the mussel exposure routes to a specific pollutant, it is important to analyze all possible vectors of the pollutant’s specific uptake in the mussel tissues

Methods

Results

Conclusion