Kutsadurari aurre egiteko muskuiluen erantzun biologikoak eta euren aldakortasun naturala.

Resumen

The assessment of the marine pollution has been recognised as an immediate need for sustained management and conservation of the marine resources. Monitoring programs based on biological responses to pollutants (biomarkers) in sentinel mussels are accepted as a tool for the marine ecosystem health assessment. Due to the interactions between pollutants and natural factors or between natural factors themselves, interpretation of biological responses to pollutants can be difficult. Determining the range of natural variability in biomarkers and how such variability might influence on correct interpreting of biomarkers in the assessment of the biological effects of pollution is of mayor importance. Although first steps have been done, further research is needed to fully understand the natural variability of biomarkers. A better understanding of the natural variability of biomarkers is needed for the development of assessment guidelines, which would endorse a cost effective multi-biomarker approach applied to mussels regularly used as sentinels in marine pollution monitoring and as experimental animals in aquatic toxicology. This review aims at explaining basic foundations of mussel biology and biomarkers and the current knowledge about their natural variability.