Trace Element Patterns in Shells of Mussels (Bivalvia) Allow to Distinguish between Fresh- and Brackish-Water Coastal Environments of the Subarctic and Boreal Zone

Lyubas, Artem A.; Kuznetsova, Irina A.; Bovykina, Galina V.; Eliseeva, Tatyana A.; Gofarov, Mikhail Yu.; Khrebtova, Irina S.; Kondakov, Alexander V.; Malkov, Alexey V.; Mavromatis, Vasileios; Shevchenko, Alexander R.; Soboleva, Alena A.; Pokrovsky, Oleg S.; Bolotov, Ivan N. (2023). Trace Element Patterns in Shells of Mussels (Bivalvia) Allow to Distinguish between Fresh- and Brackish-Water Coastal Environments of the Subarctic and Boreal Zone. Water, 15(20), p. 3625. MDPI 10.3390/w15203625

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The accumulation of trace metals in the shells of bivalves allows quantitative assessments of environmental pollution and helps to reconstruct paleo aquatic environments. However, the understanding on how marine and freshwater mollusks control the level of trace elements in their shells remains very limited. Here, we compared the trace element composition of marine and freshwater bivalves from boreal and subarctic habitats, using examples of widely distributed species of marine (Mytilus edulis, M. trossulus) and freshwater (Anodonta anatina, Unio sp., Beringiana beringiana) mussels. Sizable differences in several trace element concentrations were detected between different species, depending on their environmental niches. A multiparametric statistical treatment of the shell’s elemental composition allowed to distinguish the impact of external factors (water and sediment chemical composition) from active metabolic (biological) control. In particular, the obtained results demonstrated that Ba:Ca and Pb:Ca ratios in mussels’ shells are closely related to the primary productivity of aquatic ecosystems. The Mn:Ca ratio allowed to constrain the environmental conditions of mussels’ species depending on the trophic state of inhabited waterbody. Overall, the marine mussels exhibited stronger biological control of trace element accumulation, whereas trace element pattern in shells of freshwater mussels was chiefly controlled by environmental factors. The obtained results might help to use the trace element composition of bivalves in distinguishing marine and freshwater habitats of mollusks in paleo environments.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Institute of Geological Sciences

UniBE Contributor:

Mavromatis, Vasileios

Subjects:

500 Science > 550 Earth sciences & geology

ISSN:

2073-4441

Publisher:

MDPI

Language:

English

Submitter:

Vasileios Mavromatis

Date Deposited:

27 Nov 2023 13:21

Last Modified:

03 Dec 2023 02:31

Publisher DOI:

10.3390/w15203625

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/189424

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/189424

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