| Summary: | pdf Thousands of potentially toxic chemical substances are introduced into the oceans every day. Even following decades of research and monitoring there is still a limited understanding of their effects on marine organisms and ecosystems. A complicating factor is the general lack of a direct relationship between elevated concentrations of contaminants in the tissues of marine organisms and effects. In addition, some biological responses have been shown to occur even at very low contaminant concentrations. A development and deployment of biological effects measurements (biomarkers and bioassays) along with analytical chemistry has increasingly been used as early warning signals of adverse environmental change in marine ecosystems. Contaminant-related biomarker responses include physiological or biochemical responses in organisms exposed to certain class of contaminants. Biomarker responses in fish from natural populations appear to be more sensitive than other methods, as they provide integrated information about contaminant exposure and effects as well as indicate acute pollution incidences. In vivo and in vitro bioassays contribute to our understanding of how pollutants affect living organisms but can also aid in deducing general mechanisms of action, to aid in categorization and overall assessment of effects. Fish is the most diverse class of vertebrates and can bridge human and ecological health in ecotoxicology studies. Benthic fish are suitable organisms for marine chemical pollution studies and the assessment of its health is it is not only an issue of conservation ecology but has clear links to utilisation of marine resources and human health. The main aims of this thesis were to clarify sublethal effects of environmental chemical contaminants on biological responses in three benthic fish species (Lepidorhombus boscii, Callionymus lyra and Mullus barbatus) from Spanish marine areas as well as to develop the use of contaminant-related biological responses in fish into an integrated framework for future ...
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