Ecotoxicological approach to assess the impact of off-shore gas production platforms in the Adriatic Sea: preliminary results of a biomonitoring program

A biomonitoring program (2004-2005) was developed to assess the impact on the marine ecosystem induced by the construction of the off-shore gas platform Calipso, located in the Northern Adriatic Sea at about 35 km from the coast. Mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis), as sentinel organisms, were collected seasonally from both the submerged parts of the platform and at a control site. Biomarkers of physiological stress (stress on stress, condition index), cellular damage (latency of N-acetyl-ß-hesosaminidase assay and Neutral Red Retention Time), DNA damage (micronuclei frequency), oxidative stress (catalase and malondialdehyde) and exposure (metallothionein and Mixed Function Oxygenase) were applied to evaluate the potential toxic effects of aliphatic (AHs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals. Chemical and biological results are presented. Preliminary data indicated similar biomarker responses in mussel from platform and reference site apart from increased metallothionein levels in platform animals, suggesting a possibly heavy metal effect. No significant differences of pollutant levels were evidenced in mussel among the sites and values were in accordance with those measured in costal areas of Adriatic Sea.