Steinar Sanni - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Steinar Sanni
Environmental Science and Pollution Research
In the brackish water Baltic Sea, oil pollution is an ever-present and significant environmental ... more In the brackish water Baltic Sea, oil pollution is an ever-present and significant environmental threat mainly due to the continuously increasing volume of oil transport in the area. In this study, effects of exposure to crude oil on two common Baltic Sea species, the mussel Mytilus trossulus and the amphipod Gammarus oceanicus, were investigated. The species were exposed for various time periods (M. trossulus 4, 7, and 14 days, G. oceanicus 4 and 11 days) to three oil concentrations (0.003, 0.04, and 0.30 mg L−1 based on water measurements, nominally aimed at 0.015, 0.120, and 0.750 mg L−1) obtained by mechanical dispersion (oil droplets). Biological effects of oil exposure were examined using a battery of biomarkers consisting of enzymes of the antioxidant defense system (ADS), lipid peroxidation, phase II detoxification (glutathione S-transferase), neurotoxicity (acetylcholinesterase inhibition), and geno- and cytotoxicity (micronuclei and other nuclear deformities). In mussels, ...
Journal of Chemical Engineering And Bioanalytical Chemistry
An approach using probabilistic risk assessment for off shore oil based discharges utilising biom... more An approach using probabilistic risk assessment for off shore oil based discharges utilising biomarkers has recently been developed (called "Biomarker Bridges"). The purpose is to enable the use of biological responses (biomarkers) as Risk Indicators in procedures for Environmental Risk Assessment. The aim of the present paper is to discuss experiences gained from applying the Biomarker Bridges approach to existing data from the monitoring of an offshore oil field. The data are from the biomonitoring case study of an oil field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The field had no discharge of produced water at the time of the survey and sediment contaminated with drill cuttings was expected to be the main source of contamination. Applying the Biomarker Bridges approach revealed that different response patterns could indeed be detected using this method when compared to responses that would commonly be associated with produced water. Examination of the different biomarker responses in this pattern revealed effects of a different chemical discharge than produced water.
Proceedings of SPE International Conference on Health, Safety and Environment in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
... 8. Sanni, S., Øysæd, KB, Høivangli, V. and Gaudebert, B. A con-tinuous flow system (CFS) for ... more ... 8. Sanni, S., Øysæd, KB, Høivangli, V. and Gaudebert, B. A con-tinuous flow system (CFS) for chronic exposure of aquatic or ... Barakat, AO, Mostafa, AR, Rullkötter,J. and Hegazi, AR Application of a multimolecular marker approach to fingerprint petroleum pollution in the marine ...
Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A
Rising oil and gas activities in northern high latitudes have led to an increased risk of petrole... more Rising oil and gas activities in northern high latitudes have led to an increased risk of petroleum pollution in these ecosystems. Further, seasonal high UV radiation at high latitudes may elevate photo-enhanced toxicity of petroleum pollution to marine organisms. Zooplanktons are a key ecological component of northern ecosystems; therefore, it is important to assess their sensitivity to potential pollutants of oil and gas activity. As ontogenetic development may be particularly sensitive, the aim of this study was to examine the impact of chronic exposure to oil water dispersion (OWD) on development and feeding of early life stages of the Northern krill, Meganyctiphanes norvegica. In a range of experiments, embryonic, nonfeeding, and feeding larval stages were exposed to concentrations of between 0.01 and 0.1 mg/L of oil or photo-modified oil for 19 and 21 d. No significant effects on egg respiration, hatching success, development, length and larval survival were observed from these treatments. Similarly, evolution of fatty acid composition patterns during ontogenetic development was unaffected. The results indicates a high degree of resilience of these early developmental stages to such types and concentrations of pollutants. However, feeding and motility in later calyptopis-stage larvae were significantly impaired at exposure of 0.1 mg/L oil. Data indicate that feeding larval stage of krill was more sensitive to OWD than early nonfeeding life stages. This might be attributed to the narcotic effects of oil pollutants, their direct ingestion, or accumulated adverse effects over early development.
Marine environmental research, 2017
The aim of this study was to determine a suitable set of biomarker based methods for environmenta... more The aim of this study was to determine a suitable set of biomarker based methods for environmental monitoring in sub-arctic and temperate offshore areas using scientific knowledge on the sensitivity of fish species to dispersed crude oil. Threshold values for environmental monitoring and risk assessment were obtained based on a quantitative comparison of biomarker responses. Turbot, halibut, salmon and sprat were exposed for up to 8 weeks to five different sub-lethal concentrations of dispersed crude oil. Biomarkers assessing PAH metabolites, oxidative stress, detoxification system I activity, genotoxicity, immunotoxicity, endocrine disruption, general cellular stress and histological changes were measured. Results showed that PAH metabolites, CYP1A/EROD, DNA adducts and histopathology rendered the most robust results across the different fish species, both in terms of sensitivity and dose-responsiveness. The reported results contributed to forming links between biomonitoring and ri...
Marine environmental research, 2017
Offshore oil and gas activities are required not to cause adverse environmental effects, and risk... more Offshore oil and gas activities are required not to cause adverse environmental effects, and risk based management has been established to meet environmental standards. In some risk assessment schemes, Risk Indicators (RIs) are parameters to monitor the development of risk affecting factors. RIs have not yet been established in the Environmental Risk Assessment procedures for management of oil based discharges offshore. This paper evaluates the usefulness of biomarkers as RIs, based on their properties, existing laboratory biomarker data and assessment methods. Data shows several correlations between oil concentrations and biomarker responses, and assessment principles exist that qualify biomarkers for integration into risk procedures. Different ways that these existing biomarkers and methods can be applied as RIs in a probabilistic risk assessment system when linked with whole organism responses are discussed. This can be a useful approach to integrate biomarkers into probabilistic...
Marine environmental research, 2017
The aim of this paper is to bridge gaps between biomarker and whole organism responses related to... more The aim of this paper is to bridge gaps between biomarker and whole organism responses related to oil based offshore discharges. These biomarker bridges will facilitate acceptance criteria for biomarker data linked to environmental risk assessment and translate biomarker results to higher order effects. Biomarker based species sensitivity distributions (SSDbiomarkers) have been constructed for relevant groups of biomarkers based on laboratory data from oil exposures. SSD curves express the fraction of species responding to different types of biomarkers. They have been connected to SSDs for whole organism responses (WORs) constructed in order to relate the SSDbiomarkers to animal fitness parameters that are commonly used in environmental risk assessment. The resulting SSD curves show that biomarkers and WORs can be linked through their potentially affected fraction of species (PAF) distributions, enhancing the capability to monitor field parameters with better correlation to impact a...
Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A, 2016
The use of physiological response endpoints in environmental monitoring represents an opportunity... more The use of physiological response endpoints in environmental monitoring represents an opportunity to provide an integrated picture of health status and ecological fitness of individuals, and may provide an indication of potential longer term effects on aquatic organisms in the environment. The feeding behavior response sensitivity of blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) of differing size to dispersed crude oil (DCO) was investigated in a lab exposure experiment. The ability of mussels to recover following a single exposure was also investigated, as well as the response to consecutive exposures, in order to assess the utility of employing the same individuals in chronic environmental monitoring. Feeding physiology was assessed by measuring retention efficiency and filtration rate of individual mussels in a live-algae feeding assay. In addition, the percentage of mussels actively filtering during testing was calculated. The feeding physiology parameters were sensitive and able to discriminate exposed mussels from controls. Further, data indicated that larger mussels appear more suitable in environmental monitoring, as these animals showed both sensitivity and an ability to adapt and recover from exposure while remaining sensitive to subsequent treatments. Smaller mussels were also sensitive to the measured endpoints, even if these animals suffered higher rates of mortality during the exposure. Finally, when exposed to the high concentration of DCO, mussels displayed a tendency to close the valves and terminate filtration.
Marine Pollution Bulletin, Nov 1, 2010
Adult shrimps (Pandalus borealis) and their embryos were exposed to an oil-water dispersion (OWD)... more Adult shrimps (Pandalus borealis) and their embryos were exposed to an oil-water dispersion (OWD) at concentrations of 0.015, 0.06 and 0.25 mg/L using a continuous flow system. Lysosomal membrane stability was analysed in haemocytes using the neutral red retention assay and an alkaline unwinding assay was used to measure DNA damage in hepatopancreas tissue. Exposure to oil induced concentration and time dependent biomarker responses in adult shrimps together with the accumulation of PAH in their tissues. Oil exposure of shrimp embryos caused increased mortality in the resultant larvae, even if the larvae were kept in clean water after hatching. There were minor differences observed in larval stage development times in the first part of the experiments. The fatty acid composition of embryos exposed to oil was different to that of non-exposed larvae. PAH tissue concentration and biomarker responses correlated to the reduced survival of the shrimp larvae.
Marine Pollution Bulletin, Dec 1, 2009
The withdrawing Arctic ice edge will facilitate future sea transport and exploration activities i... more The withdrawing Arctic ice edge will facilitate future sea transport and exploration activities in the area, which calls for the establishment of relevant cold water monitoring species. The present study presents first results of field baseline levels for core oil pollution biomarkers in Polar cod (Boreogadus saida) sampled from pristine, Arctic waters. Furthermore, biomarker response levels were characterized in controlled laboratory exposure experiments running over 2 weeks. Fish exposed to a simulated petrogenic spill (1 ppm dispersed, crude oil) exhibited elevated hepatic EROD activity, bile PAH-metabolites, and hepatic DNA-adducts, whereas male individuals exposed to simulated produced water (30 ppb nonylphenol) exhibited a strong induction of plasma vitellogenin. In conclusion, the results demonstrated low and robust biomarker baseline levels that were clearly different from exposure responses. In combination with its high abundance and circumpolar distribution, the Polar cod seems well qualified for oil pollution monitoring in Arctic waters.
ABSTRACT The Norwegian marine environment has for many years been subjected to the effects of oil... more ABSTRACT The Norwegian marine environment has for many years been subjected to the effects of oil and gas activities. Oil companies have a vested interest in ensuring their activities are as environmentally friendly as possible due to increasing environmental awareness in government bodies, environmental agencies and the public. A zero-emission policy is extended in the Norwegian oil industry, and as activities expand into more biologically sensitive areas such as the Barents Sea, oil companies require more documentation of policy compliance. There is a growing interest for real-time environmental monitoring (RTEM) as it gives a continuous record of environmental performance and has the potential of linking monitoring data with the acceptance criteria proposed in environmental risk assessment. A number of whole-animal biosensors were developed approximately 25 years ago, and were based on monitoring behavioural and physiological responses in real-time. These methods successfully document acute environmental changes, however, chronic exposure events are more difficult to interpret. We have used a suite of newly applied methods to measure the feeding rate, pumping rate, valve gape behaviour, growth, and oxygen metabolism of blue mussels exposed to dispersed crude oil. Mussels were exposed to nominal concentrations of crude oil (0.015 or 0.06 or 0.25 mg crude oil L-1), and behaviour in clean seawater and during exposure were compared. Preliminary results from these experiments will be presented, and reflection upon their future for use as instrumented organism biosensors for environmental change, not only in the natural resource extraction industry, will be discussed.
ABSTRACT Environmental pollutants are intrinsically linked to water – either through their physic... more ABSTRACT Environmental pollutants are intrinsically linked to water – either through their physicochemical properties, altering the way they interact with water, or because they are discharged or transported to a water body, eventually ending up in the giant sink that is the ocean. It is necessary to focus on protecting the environment and developing early warning systems for discharged chemicals. A huge focus has been placed on learning about sub-organismal biomarkers – small changes in the physiology of individuals which are considered early-warning signals of a harmful effect. Or on the development of whole-organism tools to monitor the heart rate and valve gape of bivalves. But how much do these tools tell us about the consequences of pollution for an individual? For a population? For a community? For an ecosystem? Two biosensors for measuring growth and energy turnover are currently under development. These methods will provide real-time in situ information on the physiological health of individuals using an easily interpretable parameter set that can be related to population level effects. In order to best optimise the use of such technology, we require information about the sensitivity of different sized individuals exposed to environmental pollution. An experiment on the effect of produced water (synthetic using Arctic crude oil) on individual blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) was carried out in the autumn of 2012. Growth rate in length, measured by callipers and by the laser diffraction method described by Strömgren, and the ability to retain particles, were measured on different sized mussels exposed to 0.06 mg L-1 and 0.750 mg L-1 produced water. Mussel growth and particle retention efficiency responses were compared to the commonly implemented biomarker lysosome membrane stability, measured by neutral red retention time. The results of these experiments will be presented and the implications for real-time environmental monitoring with fitness parameters discussed.
Instrumented, whole-organism biosensors for environmental monitoring are reliant on the use of se... more Instrumented, whole-organism biosensors for environmental monitoring are reliant on the use of sensitive individuals. Size is known to have an implication on the sensitivity of individuals, often connected to life history patterns (such as reproductive age) and surface area-to-volume ratios. However, when instrumentation is to be place on or around an organism, there are certain limitations related to size. The current study was aimed at investigating the feeding behaviour sensitivity of different sized blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) to oil exposure, with thought to current developments within biosensor technology (see abstract, Redmond & Andersen, this conference). The filtration rate and feeding activity of three size groups of mussels was monitored during two exposure periods of 12-17 days, separated by a recovery period. Filtration rate was measured using static clearance methods, by the reduction in algae concentration. Exposure to oil concentrations between 0.8-0.9 mg L-1 lead ...
Several European Countries are currently implementing new discharge policies, and new methods are... more Several European Countries are currently implementing new discharge policies, and new methods are being developed to measure and predict biological effects. Oil Companies are currently evaluating and implementing such methods to predict and monitor the effects of their exploration and production activities offshore. The Industry is also extending its operations into the Arctic and into deep sea areas. Adaptation of the new methods to meet the demands both for environmental monitoring and prediction in these areas will be necessary, as corresponding methods for use in arctic and deep waters are presently not operative. BioSea is a research project initiated by Norsk Agip Oil Company (Norwegian subsidiary of Italian Eni E&P Division) to evaluate and to adapt such methods to Arctic conditions. The project has later been supplemented to include deep sea components and other related elements through joining research efforts with activities initiated by Total E&P Norge AS in their 'Co...
Within the frame of the Becpelag workshop (ICES), cod were caged in gradients from the oil platfo... more Within the frame of the Becpelag workshop (ICES), cod were caged in gradients from the oil platform Statfjord B in the northern North Sea and from the river mouth of Elbe in the German Bight. Four locations were applied in each area, and fish were exposed at the sites for ca 5 weeks. Bile samples were analysed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolites by means of fixed wavelength fluorescence (FF) and GC/MS. Metals in bile were analysed by ICP/MS. The results demonstrated increasing levels of non-alkylated and alkylated naphthalene and phenanthrene metabolites towards the Statfjord B platform. Elevated levels of these typically oil related compounds, were found up to 10 km from the platform. The levels were significantly higher at Statfjord compared to German Bight. 1-OH pyrene was found at increased leve ls only at the innermost site in the German Bight. Several metals were found at increased levels in fish from both Statfjord and the German Bight, when compared to the ...
Environmental Science and Pollution Research
In the brackish water Baltic Sea, oil pollution is an ever-present and significant environmental ... more In the brackish water Baltic Sea, oil pollution is an ever-present and significant environmental threat mainly due to the continuously increasing volume of oil transport in the area. In this study, effects of exposure to crude oil on two common Baltic Sea species, the mussel Mytilus trossulus and the amphipod Gammarus oceanicus, were investigated. The species were exposed for various time periods (M. trossulus 4, 7, and 14 days, G. oceanicus 4 and 11 days) to three oil concentrations (0.003, 0.04, and 0.30 mg L−1 based on water measurements, nominally aimed at 0.015, 0.120, and 0.750 mg L−1) obtained by mechanical dispersion (oil droplets). Biological effects of oil exposure were examined using a battery of biomarkers consisting of enzymes of the antioxidant defense system (ADS), lipid peroxidation, phase II detoxification (glutathione S-transferase), neurotoxicity (acetylcholinesterase inhibition), and geno- and cytotoxicity (micronuclei and other nuclear deformities). In mussels, ...
Journal of Chemical Engineering And Bioanalytical Chemistry
An approach using probabilistic risk assessment for off shore oil based discharges utilising biom... more An approach using probabilistic risk assessment for off shore oil based discharges utilising biomarkers has recently been developed (called "Biomarker Bridges"). The purpose is to enable the use of biological responses (biomarkers) as Risk Indicators in procedures for Environmental Risk Assessment. The aim of the present paper is to discuss experiences gained from applying the Biomarker Bridges approach to existing data from the monitoring of an offshore oil field. The data are from the biomonitoring case study of an oil field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The field had no discharge of produced water at the time of the survey and sediment contaminated with drill cuttings was expected to be the main source of contamination. Applying the Biomarker Bridges approach revealed that different response patterns could indeed be detected using this method when compared to responses that would commonly be associated with produced water. Examination of the different biomarker responses in this pattern revealed effects of a different chemical discharge than produced water.
Proceedings of SPE International Conference on Health, Safety and Environment in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
... 8. Sanni, S., Øysæd, KB, Høivangli, V. and Gaudebert, B. A con-tinuous flow system (CFS) for ... more ... 8. Sanni, S., Øysæd, KB, Høivangli, V. and Gaudebert, B. A con-tinuous flow system (CFS) for chronic exposure of aquatic or ... Barakat, AO, Mostafa, AR, Rullkötter,J. and Hegazi, AR Application of a multimolecular marker approach to fingerprint petroleum pollution in the marine ...
Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A
Rising oil and gas activities in northern high latitudes have led to an increased risk of petrole... more Rising oil and gas activities in northern high latitudes have led to an increased risk of petroleum pollution in these ecosystems. Further, seasonal high UV radiation at high latitudes may elevate photo-enhanced toxicity of petroleum pollution to marine organisms. Zooplanktons are a key ecological component of northern ecosystems; therefore, it is important to assess their sensitivity to potential pollutants of oil and gas activity. As ontogenetic development may be particularly sensitive, the aim of this study was to examine the impact of chronic exposure to oil water dispersion (OWD) on development and feeding of early life stages of the Northern krill, Meganyctiphanes norvegica. In a range of experiments, embryonic, nonfeeding, and feeding larval stages were exposed to concentrations of between 0.01 and 0.1 mg/L of oil or photo-modified oil for 19 and 21 d. No significant effects on egg respiration, hatching success, development, length and larval survival were observed from these treatments. Similarly, evolution of fatty acid composition patterns during ontogenetic development was unaffected. The results indicates a high degree of resilience of these early developmental stages to such types and concentrations of pollutants. However, feeding and motility in later calyptopis-stage larvae were significantly impaired at exposure of 0.1 mg/L oil. Data indicate that feeding larval stage of krill was more sensitive to OWD than early nonfeeding life stages. This might be attributed to the narcotic effects of oil pollutants, their direct ingestion, or accumulated adverse effects over early development.
Marine environmental research, 2017
The aim of this study was to determine a suitable set of biomarker based methods for environmenta... more The aim of this study was to determine a suitable set of biomarker based methods for environmental monitoring in sub-arctic and temperate offshore areas using scientific knowledge on the sensitivity of fish species to dispersed crude oil. Threshold values for environmental monitoring and risk assessment were obtained based on a quantitative comparison of biomarker responses. Turbot, halibut, salmon and sprat were exposed for up to 8 weeks to five different sub-lethal concentrations of dispersed crude oil. Biomarkers assessing PAH metabolites, oxidative stress, detoxification system I activity, genotoxicity, immunotoxicity, endocrine disruption, general cellular stress and histological changes were measured. Results showed that PAH metabolites, CYP1A/EROD, DNA adducts and histopathology rendered the most robust results across the different fish species, both in terms of sensitivity and dose-responsiveness. The reported results contributed to forming links between biomonitoring and ri...
Marine environmental research, 2017
Offshore oil and gas activities are required not to cause adverse environmental effects, and risk... more Offshore oil and gas activities are required not to cause adverse environmental effects, and risk based management has been established to meet environmental standards. In some risk assessment schemes, Risk Indicators (RIs) are parameters to monitor the development of risk affecting factors. RIs have not yet been established in the Environmental Risk Assessment procedures for management of oil based discharges offshore. This paper evaluates the usefulness of biomarkers as RIs, based on their properties, existing laboratory biomarker data and assessment methods. Data shows several correlations between oil concentrations and biomarker responses, and assessment principles exist that qualify biomarkers for integration into risk procedures. Different ways that these existing biomarkers and methods can be applied as RIs in a probabilistic risk assessment system when linked with whole organism responses are discussed. This can be a useful approach to integrate biomarkers into probabilistic...
Marine environmental research, 2017
The aim of this paper is to bridge gaps between biomarker and whole organism responses related to... more The aim of this paper is to bridge gaps between biomarker and whole organism responses related to oil based offshore discharges. These biomarker bridges will facilitate acceptance criteria for biomarker data linked to environmental risk assessment and translate biomarker results to higher order effects. Biomarker based species sensitivity distributions (SSDbiomarkers) have been constructed for relevant groups of biomarkers based on laboratory data from oil exposures. SSD curves express the fraction of species responding to different types of biomarkers. They have been connected to SSDs for whole organism responses (WORs) constructed in order to relate the SSDbiomarkers to animal fitness parameters that are commonly used in environmental risk assessment. The resulting SSD curves show that biomarkers and WORs can be linked through their potentially affected fraction of species (PAF) distributions, enhancing the capability to monitor field parameters with better correlation to impact a...
Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A, 2016
The use of physiological response endpoints in environmental monitoring represents an opportunity... more The use of physiological response endpoints in environmental monitoring represents an opportunity to provide an integrated picture of health status and ecological fitness of individuals, and may provide an indication of potential longer term effects on aquatic organisms in the environment. The feeding behavior response sensitivity of blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) of differing size to dispersed crude oil (DCO) was investigated in a lab exposure experiment. The ability of mussels to recover following a single exposure was also investigated, as well as the response to consecutive exposures, in order to assess the utility of employing the same individuals in chronic environmental monitoring. Feeding physiology was assessed by measuring retention efficiency and filtration rate of individual mussels in a live-algae feeding assay. In addition, the percentage of mussels actively filtering during testing was calculated. The feeding physiology parameters were sensitive and able to discriminate exposed mussels from controls. Further, data indicated that larger mussels appear more suitable in environmental monitoring, as these animals showed both sensitivity and an ability to adapt and recover from exposure while remaining sensitive to subsequent treatments. Smaller mussels were also sensitive to the measured endpoints, even if these animals suffered higher rates of mortality during the exposure. Finally, when exposed to the high concentration of DCO, mussels displayed a tendency to close the valves and terminate filtration.
Marine Pollution Bulletin, Nov 1, 2010
Adult shrimps (Pandalus borealis) and their embryos were exposed to an oil-water dispersion (OWD)... more Adult shrimps (Pandalus borealis) and their embryos were exposed to an oil-water dispersion (OWD) at concentrations of 0.015, 0.06 and 0.25 mg/L using a continuous flow system. Lysosomal membrane stability was analysed in haemocytes using the neutral red retention assay and an alkaline unwinding assay was used to measure DNA damage in hepatopancreas tissue. Exposure to oil induced concentration and time dependent biomarker responses in adult shrimps together with the accumulation of PAH in their tissues. Oil exposure of shrimp embryos caused increased mortality in the resultant larvae, even if the larvae were kept in clean water after hatching. There were minor differences observed in larval stage development times in the first part of the experiments. The fatty acid composition of embryos exposed to oil was different to that of non-exposed larvae. PAH tissue concentration and biomarker responses correlated to the reduced survival of the shrimp larvae.
Marine Pollution Bulletin, Dec 1, 2009
The withdrawing Arctic ice edge will facilitate future sea transport and exploration activities i... more The withdrawing Arctic ice edge will facilitate future sea transport and exploration activities in the area, which calls for the establishment of relevant cold water monitoring species. The present study presents first results of field baseline levels for core oil pollution biomarkers in Polar cod (Boreogadus saida) sampled from pristine, Arctic waters. Furthermore, biomarker response levels were characterized in controlled laboratory exposure experiments running over 2 weeks. Fish exposed to a simulated petrogenic spill (1 ppm dispersed, crude oil) exhibited elevated hepatic EROD activity, bile PAH-metabolites, and hepatic DNA-adducts, whereas male individuals exposed to simulated produced water (30 ppb nonylphenol) exhibited a strong induction of plasma vitellogenin. In conclusion, the results demonstrated low and robust biomarker baseline levels that were clearly different from exposure responses. In combination with its high abundance and circumpolar distribution, the Polar cod seems well qualified for oil pollution monitoring in Arctic waters.
ABSTRACT The Norwegian marine environment has for many years been subjected to the effects of oil... more ABSTRACT The Norwegian marine environment has for many years been subjected to the effects of oil and gas activities. Oil companies have a vested interest in ensuring their activities are as environmentally friendly as possible due to increasing environmental awareness in government bodies, environmental agencies and the public. A zero-emission policy is extended in the Norwegian oil industry, and as activities expand into more biologically sensitive areas such as the Barents Sea, oil companies require more documentation of policy compliance. There is a growing interest for real-time environmental monitoring (RTEM) as it gives a continuous record of environmental performance and has the potential of linking monitoring data with the acceptance criteria proposed in environmental risk assessment. A number of whole-animal biosensors were developed approximately 25 years ago, and were based on monitoring behavioural and physiological responses in real-time. These methods successfully document acute environmental changes, however, chronic exposure events are more difficult to interpret. We have used a suite of newly applied methods to measure the feeding rate, pumping rate, valve gape behaviour, growth, and oxygen metabolism of blue mussels exposed to dispersed crude oil. Mussels were exposed to nominal concentrations of crude oil (0.015 or 0.06 or 0.25 mg crude oil L-1), and behaviour in clean seawater and during exposure were compared. Preliminary results from these experiments will be presented, and reflection upon their future for use as instrumented organism biosensors for environmental change, not only in the natural resource extraction industry, will be discussed.
ABSTRACT Environmental pollutants are intrinsically linked to water – either through their physic... more ABSTRACT Environmental pollutants are intrinsically linked to water – either through their physicochemical properties, altering the way they interact with water, or because they are discharged or transported to a water body, eventually ending up in the giant sink that is the ocean. It is necessary to focus on protecting the environment and developing early warning systems for discharged chemicals. A huge focus has been placed on learning about sub-organismal biomarkers – small changes in the physiology of individuals which are considered early-warning signals of a harmful effect. Or on the development of whole-organism tools to monitor the heart rate and valve gape of bivalves. But how much do these tools tell us about the consequences of pollution for an individual? For a population? For a community? For an ecosystem? Two biosensors for measuring growth and energy turnover are currently under development. These methods will provide real-time in situ information on the physiological health of individuals using an easily interpretable parameter set that can be related to population level effects. In order to best optimise the use of such technology, we require information about the sensitivity of different sized individuals exposed to environmental pollution. An experiment on the effect of produced water (synthetic using Arctic crude oil) on individual blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) was carried out in the autumn of 2012. Growth rate in length, measured by callipers and by the laser diffraction method described by Strömgren, and the ability to retain particles, were measured on different sized mussels exposed to 0.06 mg L-1 and 0.750 mg L-1 produced water. Mussel growth and particle retention efficiency responses were compared to the commonly implemented biomarker lysosome membrane stability, measured by neutral red retention time. The results of these experiments will be presented and the implications for real-time environmental monitoring with fitness parameters discussed.
Instrumented, whole-organism biosensors for environmental monitoring are reliant on the use of se... more Instrumented, whole-organism biosensors for environmental monitoring are reliant on the use of sensitive individuals. Size is known to have an implication on the sensitivity of individuals, often connected to life history patterns (such as reproductive age) and surface area-to-volume ratios. However, when instrumentation is to be place on or around an organism, there are certain limitations related to size. The current study was aimed at investigating the feeding behaviour sensitivity of different sized blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) to oil exposure, with thought to current developments within biosensor technology (see abstract, Redmond & Andersen, this conference). The filtration rate and feeding activity of three size groups of mussels was monitored during two exposure periods of 12-17 days, separated by a recovery period. Filtration rate was measured using static clearance methods, by the reduction in algae concentration. Exposure to oil concentrations between 0.8-0.9 mg L-1 lead ...
Several European Countries are currently implementing new discharge policies, and new methods are... more Several European Countries are currently implementing new discharge policies, and new methods are being developed to measure and predict biological effects. Oil Companies are currently evaluating and implementing such methods to predict and monitor the effects of their exploration and production activities offshore. The Industry is also extending its operations into the Arctic and into deep sea areas. Adaptation of the new methods to meet the demands both for environmental monitoring and prediction in these areas will be necessary, as corresponding methods for use in arctic and deep waters are presently not operative. BioSea is a research project initiated by Norsk Agip Oil Company (Norwegian subsidiary of Italian Eni E&P Division) to evaluate and to adapt such methods to Arctic conditions. The project has later been supplemented to include deep sea components and other related elements through joining research efforts with activities initiated by Total E&P Norge AS in their 'Co...
Within the frame of the Becpelag workshop (ICES), cod were caged in gradients from the oil platfo... more Within the frame of the Becpelag workshop (ICES), cod were caged in gradients from the oil platform Statfjord B in the northern North Sea and from the river mouth of Elbe in the German Bight. Four locations were applied in each area, and fish were exposed at the sites for ca 5 weeks. Bile samples were analysed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolites by means of fixed wavelength fluorescence (FF) and GC/MS. Metals in bile were analysed by ICP/MS. The results demonstrated increasing levels of non-alkylated and alkylated naphthalene and phenanthrene metabolites towards the Statfjord B platform. Elevated levels of these typically oil related compounds, were found up to 10 km from the platform. The levels were significantly higher at Statfjord compared to German Bight. 1-OH pyrene was found at increased leve ls only at the innermost site in the German Bight. Several metals were found at increased levels in fish from both Statfjord and the German Bight, when compared to the ...