An integrated approach to biological monitoring in the Lagoon of Venice

Within the course of researches for the identification of qualified keystone species, and the development of reliable methodologies for the biological monitoring of the environmental quality and the human impact on the ecosystems, we have developed an integrated approach that may provide indications of possible environmental alterations that affect biological processes at different temporal scales. Through the analysis of respiratory protein polymorphisms, measures of developmental instability, and the evaluation of genetic variation within and between populations, it is possible to get a picture of the environmental variations at short, middle and long term scale. To test this method, we chose Carcinus aestuarii as keystone species. This decapod crustacean, broadly diffused in the Venetian lagoon and along the cost of the Adriatic sea, seems to be optimal for comparing populations from different local contexts.