PROMISING EXTRACTIVE SPECIES FOR INTEGRATED MARICULTURE SYSTEMS: PRELIMINARY RESULTS ON RESISTANCE TO ORGANOPHOSPHATE INSECTICIDES

摘要

Integrated mariculture may play an important role in the future development and long-term sustainability of caged-open water systems. Analysing recent contradictory findings on the benefits of including extractive species (i.e. bivalves) in open sea cultures systems, it becomes clear that other aspects of co-cultivation including resistance to drugs and pesticides used against fish disease and pest control, should be investigated. Three Mediterranean filter-feeders, the common mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, the sponge Spongia officinalis and the polychaete sabellid Sabella spallanzanii (fan-worm) were investigated for their resistance to OP insecticides by measuring the activity of cholinesterases (ChEs), enzymes mainly involved in cholinergic transmission and commonly inhibited by these chemicals.