Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon levels and measures of oxidative stress in the Mediterranean endemic bivalve Pinna nobilis exposed to the Don Pedro oil spill

Abstract

The fan mussel (Pinna nobilis Linné, 1758) is the largest endemic Mediterranean bivalve subject to strict protection as an endangered species. Antioxidant biomarkers in P. nobilis gills for biomonitoring marine pollution were researched after the Don Pedro oil spill. Two sampling locations on the east and southeast of the island of Ibiza (Western Mediterranean, Spain) were selected, one extensively affected by the oil spill and the other unaffected (control area). Mussels were sampled 1 month, 6 months and 1 year after the accident. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon levels and antioxidant enzymes significantly increased as result of the oil spill in all sampling periods (p < 0.05). Oxidative damage in lipids significantly increased in the mussels collected in the affected area (p < 0.05), though such damage was back to normal after 1 year. In conclusion, the Don Pedro oil spill induced a situation of oxidative stress on P. nobilis that continued a year later