Impacts of Petroleum, Petroleum Components, and Dispersants on Organisms and Populations (original) (raw)
Related papers
Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B, 2021
In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, a number of government agencies, academic institutions, consultants, and nonprofit organizations conducted lab-and field-based research to understand the toxic effects of the oil. Lab testing was performed with a variety of fish, birds, turtles, and vertebrate cell lines (as well as invertebrates); field biologists conducted observations on fish, birds, turtles, and marine mammals; and epidemiologists carried out observational studies in humans. Eight years after the spill, scientists and resource managers held a workshop to summarize the similarities and differences in the effects of DWH oil on vertebrate taxa and to identify remaining gaps in our understanding of oil toxicity in wildlife and humans, building upon the cross-taxonomic synthesis initiated during the Natural Resource Damage Assessment. Across the studies, consistency was found in the types of toxic response observed in the different organisms. Impairment of stress responses and adrenal gland function, cardiotoxicity, immune system dysfunction, disruption of blood cells and their function, effects on locomotion, and oxidative damage were observed across taxa. This consistency suggests conservation in the mechanisms of action and disease pathogenesis. From a toxicological perspective, a logical progression of impacts was noted: from molecular and cellular effects that manifest as organ dysfunction, to systemic effects that compromise fitness, growth, reproductive potential, and survival. From a clinical perspective, adverse health effects from DWH oil spill exposure formed a suite of signs/symptomatic responses that at the highest doses/concentrations resulted in multi-organ system failure.
Effects of Petroleum By-Products and Dispersants on Ecosystems
2021
Gulf of Mexico (GOM) ecosystems are interconnected by numerous physical and biological processes. After the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster, these ecological processes facilitated dispersal of oil-spill toxicants or were damaged and broken. A considerable portion of post-DWH research focused on higher levels of biological organization (i.e., populations, communities, and ecosystems) spanning at least four environments (onshore, coastal, open ocean, and deep benthos). Damage wrought by the oil spill and mitigation efforts varied considerably across ecosystems. Whereas all systems show prolonged impacts because of cascading effects that impacted functional connections within and between communities, deep-sea and mesopelagic environments were particularly hard hit and have shown less resilience than shallow environments. In some environments, such as marshes or the deep-sea benthos, products from the spill are still biologically accessible. Some shallow ecosystems show signs of recove...
Comparative Toxicity of Oil, Dispersant, and Dispersed Oil to Texas Marine Species
International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings, 2001
Dispersants are one class of chemical response agents currently approved for use on offshore oil spills. However, questions persist regarding potential environmental risks of nearshore dispersant applications. To address these questions, the relative toxicity of weathered crude oil, dispersant, and weathered crude oil plus dispersant were compared. This study included one luminescent marine bacteria (Vibrio fisheri), two marine vertebrate (Cyprinodon variegatus and Menidia beryllina), and one invertebrate test species (Mysidopsis bahia). Both the vertebrate and invertebrate species were tested under spiked (short episodic) exposure regimes and 96-hour continuous exposure regimes using protocols developed by the Chemical Response to Oil Spills: Ecological Effects Research Forum (CROSERF) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), respectively. Toxicity to the marine bacteria was evaluated after a 15-minute exposure using the Microbics Microtox® system. Results showed no signific...
Effects of Oil on Terrestrial Vertebrates: Predicting Impacts of the Macondo Blowout
BioScience, 2014
In addition to external oiling, marine oil spills may affect vertebrate animals through degradation of habitat; alterations in food web structure; and contamination of resources by toxic compounds, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These processes are not well understood for vertebrates breeding and foraging in terrestrial ecosystems affected by oil, such as coastal marshes that were heavily oiled following the 2010 Macondo oil spill. Here, we review what is known about the ecological and physiological effects of oil exposure on vertebrates in general. We then apply these concepts to salt-marsh vertebrates, with special reference to our ongoing monitoring of impacts and recovery in the seaside sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus) and marsh rice rat (Oryzomys palustris) in Louisiana following the Macondo spill.
Effects of Repeated Sublethal External Exposure to Deep Water Horizon Oil on the Avian Metabolome
Scientific Reports, 2019
We assessed adverse effects of external sublethal exposure of Deepwater Horizon, Mississippi Canyon 252 oil on plasma and liver metabolome profiles of the double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), a large (1.5 to 3.0 kg) diving waterbird common in the Gulf of Mexico. Metabolomics analysis of avian plasma showed significant negative effects on avian metabolic profiles, in some cases after only two external exposures (26 g cumulative) to oil. We observed significant (p < 0.05) changes in intermediate metabolites of energy metabolism and fatty acid and amino acid metabolic pathways in cormorants after repeated exposure to oil. Exposure to oil increased several metabolites (glycine, betaine, serine and methionine) that are essential to the one-carbon metabolism pathway. Lipid metabolism was affected, causing an increase in production of ketone bodies, suggesting lipids were used as an alternative energy source for energy production in oil exposed birds. In addition, metabolites associated with hepatic bile acid metabolism were affected by oil exposure which was correlated with changes observed in bile acids in exposed birds. These changes at the most basic level of phenotypic expression caused by sublethal exposure to oil can have effects that would be detrimental to reproduction, migration, and survival in avian species. In the subtropical Gulf of Mexico deep-water oil drilling accounts for more than 80% of all new drilling 1. Inherent in this development in oil drilling practices have been increased risk of spills and changes in how these spills affect the environment 1,2. The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in April 2010 brought forth many of these differences in deep-water drilling and its environmental effects. The DWH oil spill was the largest offshore marine oil spill in the world and unprecedented in terms of loss of human life and economic and environmental impacts 1,3. Key among these differences is that the oil travelled hundreds of meters through the water column, from 66 km offshore, and the active spill continued for several months, ultimately covering 112,100 km 2 and exposing 2,100 km of shoreline off the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and western Florida, USA 1,3. Large numbers of mortalities of wildlife including avian species have been documented in oil spills 4-6 and the DWH oil spill was no exception 3. However, the DWH oil spill was unique for a number of reasons. The nature of the DWH spill resulted in potentially repeated sublethal exposure to oil for weeks or even months post-spill over a wide geographic area 2,3,7. Sublethal exposure was corroborated by many bird species seen alive during the DWH Natural Resource Damage Assessment 3,8 but observed with moderate to trace amounts of oiling (<40% body coverage 5). In addition, oil from the DWH Mississippi Canyon 252 (MC252) spill has been suggested to be more biodegradable and less toxic due to its chemical makeup 9,10. The DWH event also occurred in warm subtropical waters and these factors presented unique characteristics associated with sublethal exposure to oil. So while previous research has indicated that sublethal dosages of oil can cause a wide range of adverse effects 11-14
Impact of Oil Spills on Marine Life
Emerging Pollutants in the Environment - Current and Further Implications, 2015
Petroleum contamination is a growing environmental concern that harms both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. However, the public and regulatory and scientific communities have given more attention to the contamination of marine habitats. This is because marine oil spills can have a serious economic impact on coastal activities, as well as on those who exploit the resources of the sea. Thus, communities that are at risk of oil disasters must anticipate the consequences and prepare for them. The deliberate release of around 6 million barrels of oil during the 1991 Gulf War in the marine environment is the largest oil spill in history. In the Gulf of Mexico, the BP Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill on 20 th April, 2010, which lasted over approximately three months, is the second largest in human history. When oil is spilled at sea it initially spreads out and moves on the water surface as a slick. It is a few millimetres thick and moves with the wind and current. At the same time, it undergoes a number of chemical and physical changes. The spreading of marine oil spills is affected by the action of winds, waves, water currents, oil type and temperature. Marine oil spills enhance the evaporation of volatile fractions such as low molecular weight alkanes and monoaromatic hydrocarbons. The natural actions, which are always at work in aquatic environment, include weathering, evaporation, oxidation, biodegradation and emulsification. Generally, the effects of oil toxicity depend on a multitude of factors. These include the oil composition and characteristics (physical and chemical), condition (i.e., weathered or not), exposure routes and regimen, and bioavailability of the oil. If the levels exceed the threshold concentration, the additive toxic effect of hydrocarbons can lead to mortality. PAHs are the major contributors to toxicity. They have different metabolic pathways that produce metabolites. These have oxidative and carcinogenic properties due to their ability to attack and bind to DNA and proteins. Inhaling
2018
In the present study, we examined how sensitivity to oil changes in combination with environmental stressors in Fundulus grandis embryos. We exposed embryos (fertilization) to a range of high‐energy water accommodated fraction (HEWAF) concentrations (0–50 parts per billion [ppb] total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs]) made from Macondo crude oil in conjunction with various environmental conditions (temperature: 20 and 30 °C; salinity: 3, 7, and 30 practical salinity units [PSU]; and dissolved oxygen: 2 and 6 mg/L). Endpoints included mortality, hatching rates, and expression of cytochrome p450 1a and 1c (cyp1a, cyp1c) in hatched larvae. There was 100% mortality for all fish under the 2 parts per million (ppm) dissolved oxygen regimes. For the 6 mg/L dissolved oxygen treatments, mortality and median lethal time (LT50) were generally higher in the 30 °C treatments versus the 20 °C treatments. Oil increased mortality in fish exposed to the highest concentration in the 20‐3‐6 (°C...
Environmental science & technology, 2017
The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) incident resulted in extensive oiling of the pelagic zone and shoreline habitats of many commercially important fish species. Exposure to the water-accommodated fraction (WAF) of oil from the spill causes developmental toxicity through cardiac defects in pelagic fish species. However, few studies have evaluated the effects of the oil on near-shore estuarine fish species such as red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus). Following exposure to a certified weathered slick oil (4.74 μg/L ∑PAH50) from the DWH event, significant sublethal impacts were observed ranging from impaired nervous system development [average 17 and 22% reductions in brain and eye area at 48 h postfertilization (hpf), respectively] to abnormal cardiac morphology (100% incidence at 24, 48, and 72 hpf) in red drum larvae. Consistent with the phenotypic responses, significantly differentially expressed transcripts, enriched gene ontology, and altered functions and canonical pathways predicted adverse...
Deepwater Horizon crude oil impacts the developing hearts of large predatory pelagic fish
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
The Deepwater Horizon disaster released more than 636 million L of crude oil into the northern Gulf of Mexico. The spill oiled upper surface water spawning habitats for many commercially and ecologically important pelagic fish species. Consequently, the developing spawn (embryos and larvae) of tunas, swordfish, and other large predators were potentially exposed to crude oil-derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Fish embryos are generally very sensitive to PAH-induced cardiotoxicity, and adverse changes in heart physiology and morphology can cause both acute and delayed mortality. Cardiac function is particularly important for fast-swimming pelagic predators with high aerobic demand. Offspring for these species develop rapidly at relatively high temperatures, and their vulnerability to crude oil toxicity is unknown. We assessed the impacts of field-collected Deepwater Horizon (MC252) oil samples on embryos of three pelagic fish: bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, and an amberja...