MOLLUSKS AS ENVIRONMENTAL SENSORS

M2MAPPS: Dr. Massabuau: can you summarize your activities at the University of Bordeaux?

DR. JEAN-CHARLES MASSABUAU: Please call me Jean-Charles. I’m a scientist, a Research Director in the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), specialized in respiratory physiology; I study and research the breathing patterns of aquatic animals. It’s a team activity that involves working with other scientists. We conduct basic research but when we see opportunities we take our findings out into the world. For example, those breathing patterns can be used as an indicator of the quality of the water in which the animals live.

M2MAPPS: What role do oysters, scallops and other mollusks play in your research?

DR. JEAN-CHARLES MASSABUAU: For more than 10 years I have been head of a research team in ecotoxicology, which is a multidisciplinary field that studies the effects of toxic chemicals on the environment. We’re studying mollusks because they generate a lot of useful environmental data 24/7 and they stay in one place, unlike fish. We can’t say that it’s relatively easy, but it is technically possible to monitor their behaviour using m2m technology. Oysters, clams and scallops obtain the nutrients they need from the water they breathe. The shells open in order to filter out the food particles, receive oxygen and remove CO2; at other times they are closed, resting. We use the timing of this behavior as an indicator of the quality of the water in which they live. When faced with pollution or poor quality water the shell closes, or stays permanently open, for abnormal periods of time. This can even occur after exposure to very low levels of pollution, which means that these creatures can be employed as very sensitive biosensors. Valuable information can also be gleaned from the size of the opening, movement speed and their biological rhythms. Their behavior is highly organized. The shell of a happy oyster will be closed for a few hours at very regular time periods. A stressed oyster will exhibit irregular and shorter closing periods. I like to think that what we are observing is the equivalent of lip reading.

M2MAPPS: So mollusks act as a pollution sensor. How is M2M used to monitor the movements and record the result?

DR. JEAN-CHARLES MASSABUAU: Human lip reading is done with your eyes, the lips are visible, but you can’t see the movements of mollusks lips, valves is a more exact term, when they are thousands of kilometers away in the sea. The trick is to glue very light electrodes (< 1 g each) to the shell in order to monitor and record those movements. Measurements are made 24/7 from a group of 16 mollusks that are left alone for months in the sea. The solution, known as the MolluSCAN Eye, comprises a card in a waterproof case next to the mollusks to acquire data and a second card out of the water to transmit the data. The whole thing is a ruggedized Linux microcomputer powered by batteries or solar panels or another power source if available. Ten measurements of three parameters are taken every second. This high sampling rate is needed to make sure that nothing is missed and to have enough data to rebuild the mollusks’ excited or relaxed behavior on computers.

M2MAPPS: All this data must mean that you are using some kind of Big Data solution.

DR. JEAN-CHARLES MASSABUAU: This setup generates a tremendous amount of data and that is why we have specialist mathematicians on the team. They are really interested in this project because they are not only helping to protect the planet, but also because every field slave unit produces 864,000 triplets of information (distance, time and animal number) a day, every day, thereby providing an exceptional data playground for those who love numbers. It’s clear that you can’t use a spreadsheet for all that data: special mathematical tools are employed in order to perform complex calculations, produce plots every day and publish them online. In addition we turn the behavior of a single creature into an equation and this allows us to see trends and changes in behavior. And equations are needed in order to determine the speed at which shells open and close.

M2MAPPS: Can you tell us something about another environmental issue? The alarming rate at which Arctic ice is melting.

DR. JEAN-CHARLES MASSABUAU: We started the MolluSCAN Eye project in the lab in 1997 and then switched to the field in 2006. I needed an M2M solution that would work unattended for a least one year and of course it would also need to operate in high seas. Today the solution performs so well that we are able to work in very harsh conditions and the most extreme environments. The Arctic is an extremely harsh environment, so we were invited to work up there. The objective was a 24/7 following of melting-induced changes on marine life by using a native Arctic inhabitant as a witness, the Icelandic scallop. For this application we needed a technology solution that didn’t require human intervention so that it could work in the 24-hour Arctic night. Very few people stay in the Arctic during the polar night. And it would need to be an ultra low power solution so that batteries could power it and that it could operate as a data logger. With our technology solution, we work in the freezing Arctic polar night while sitting in our office in the mild climate of South Western France! Today both the project and the approach are of interest to many scientists who see a tool for basic research, one that can be employed by decision-makers and ecologists who want to survey the environment.

M2MAPPS: These are commendable programs but have they produced tangible results? Have actions been taken by governments or other organizations?

DR. JEAN-CHARLES MASSABUAU: We have been working within a EU PORTONOVO program that intends to standardize a methodology for the water quality management in port areas all along along the European Atlantic coast. Oil and other pollution can be seen on the surface during daytime, but you really need to look through the eyes of the residents in order to obtain tangible evidence 24/7. Another example was the deployment of MolluSCAN Eye in oyster farms in France to characterize the timing of the oysters’ spawning. A spawning takes typically between 20-30 minutes and it happens once in a full year. Quite short when you don’t know when it will happen. But we did it! We got them.