Trace Element Patterns in Shells of Mussels (Bivalvia) Allow to Distinguish between Fresh- and Brackish-Water Coastal Environments of the Subarctic and Boreal Zone
Artem A. Lyubas,
Irina A. Kuznetsova,
Galina V. Bovykina,
Tatyana A. Eliseeva,
Mikhail Yu. Gofarov,
Irina S. Khrebtova,
Alexander V. Kondakov,
Alexey V. Malkov,
Vasileios Mavromatis,
Alexander R. Shevchenko,
Alena A. Soboleva,
Oleg S. Pokrovsky,
Ivan N. Bolotov
Affiliations
Artem A. Lyubas
N. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nikolsky Prospect 20, 163020 Arkhangelsk, Russia
Irina A. Kuznetsova
N. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nikolsky Prospect 20, 163020 Arkhangelsk, Russia
Galina V. Bovykina
N. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nikolsky Prospect 20, 163020 Arkhangelsk, Russia
Tatyana A. Eliseeva
N. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nikolsky Prospect 20, 163020 Arkhangelsk, Russia
Mikhail Yu. Gofarov
N. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nikolsky Prospect 20, 163020 Arkhangelsk, Russia
Irina S. Khrebtova
N. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nikolsky Prospect 20, 163020 Arkhangelsk, Russia
Alexander V. Kondakov
N. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nikolsky Prospect 20, 163020 Arkhangelsk, Russia
Alexey V. Malkov
Scientific Department, Northern (Arctic) Federal University, Northern Dvina Emb. 17, 163000 Arkhangelsk, Russia
Vasileios Mavromatis
Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 1+3, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Alexander R. Shevchenko
N. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nikolsky Prospect 20, 163020 Arkhangelsk, Russia
Alena A. Soboleva
N. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nikolsky Prospect 20, 163020 Arkhangelsk, Russia
Oleg S. Pokrovsky
Geosciences and Environment Toulouse, UMR 5563 CNRS, 31400 Toulouse, France
Ivan N. Bolotov
N. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nikolsky Prospect 20, 163020 Arkhangelsk, Russia
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.
