Blue mussels and Pacific oysters in Belgian coastal harbours as test organisms for environmental stress

Harbours receive, as semi-enclosed structures, high loads of chemical substances through river inputs, direct discharges (oil spills) as well as by indirect ways such as shipping traffic, atmospheric deposition, wastewater, etc. This means that organisms living in harbours are exposed to a wide range of pollutants which have the potential to cause stress by disturbing the normal functioning of the biological organisation. As part of the INRAM project, in which the risk of micropollutants is studied for the Belgian coastal zone, a cage experiment with mussels and oysters was conducted in the ha... Mehr ...