Biomarkers of Sublethal Stress in the Soft-sediment Bivalve Austrovenus stutchburyi Exposed in-situ to Contaminated Sediment in an Urban New Zealand Harbour

In this study, a suite of sublethal stress biomarkers were analysed in the sediment-dwelling bivalve, Austrovenus stutchburyi, with a view to using them as pollution monitoring tools. Shellfish were transplanted from a relatively uncontaminated site to four sites in a different harbour with different levels of contaminants in the sediment, where they were exposed in-situ for 2 and 8 weeks. A range of sublethal stress biomarkers were selected on the basis of their potential to provide ecologically relevant information (adenylate energy charge, total adenylate nucleotide pool, glycogen and RNA). Adenylate energy charge was lower at contaminated sites after 2 weeks, but recovered after 8 weeks, whereas total adenylate nucleotide pool was depressed after 8 weeks at these sites. Glycogen and RNA were found to be significantly higher at the uncontaminated site after both 2 and 8 weeks. These data suggest the potential application of biomarkers in coastal pollution monitoring.