Integrated Monitoring with Moss-Bag and Mussel Transplants in Reservoirs

Abstract

For the first time, transplants with moss-bags and mussels together were applied to study the water quality in standing water bodies. The tested species: Fontinalis antipyretica Hedw. and Sinanodonta woodiana (Lea, 1834) were collected from unpolluted sites and analyzed to obtain background levels. Then, the moss and mussels were left in cages for a period of 30 days in three reservoirs where both are not present naturally. Two of the reservoirs suffer from old industrial contamination and one is affected by untreated wastes. Twenty-four compounds were studied, among them trace elements Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn and organic priority substances: six polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) congeners and short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs). The trace element accumulation was significant after the exposition period in all studied stations. PBDEs and SCCPs were also accumulated up to two times more in the moss tissues. PBDEs in the mussels exceeded the environmental quality standard (EQS). The applied combined transplants, and especially the moss-bags, revealed severe contamination with heavy metals not detected by the water samples. The moss and the mussel followed a different model of trace element and PBDEs accumulation. The SCCPs levels were alarmingly high in all plant samples. The study confirmed PBDEs and SCCPs as bioaccumulative compounds and suggested that an EQS for SCCPs in biota needs to be established.