Immediate ecotoxicological effects of short-lived oil spills on marine biota

Corina P. D. Brussaard, Louis Peperzak, Siham Beggah, Lukas Y. Wick, Birgit Wuerz, Jan Weber, J. Samuel Arey, Bart van der Burg, Arjen Jonas, Johannes Huisman and Jan Roelof van der Meer ()
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Corina P. D. Brussaard: NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research
Louis Peperzak: NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research
Siham Beggah: Bâtiment Biophore, Quartier UNIL-Sorge, University of Lausanne
Lukas Y. Wick: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ
Birgit Wuerz: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ
Jan Weber: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ
J. Samuel Arey: Environmental Chemistry Modeling Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Bart van der Burg: BioDetection Systems BV
Arjen Jonas: BioDetection Systems BV
Johannes Huisman: Rijkswaterstaat Zee en Delta, Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Milieu
Jan Roelof van der Meer: Bâtiment Biophore, Quartier UNIL-Sorge, University of Lausanne

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Marine environments are frequently exposed to oil spills as a result of transportation, oil drilling or fuel usage. Whereas large oil spills and their effects have been widely documented, more common and recurrent small spills typically escape attention. To fill this important gap in the assessment of oil-spill effects, we performed two independent supervised full sea releases of 5 m3 of crude oil, complemented by on-board mesocosm studies and sampling of accidentally encountered slicks. Using rapid on-board biological assays, we detect high bioavailability and toxicity of dissolved and dispersed oil within 24 h after the spills, occurring fairly deep (8 m) below the slicks. Selective decline of marine plankton is observed, equally relevant for early stages of larger spills. Our results demonstrate that, contrary to common thinking, even small spills have immediate adverse biological effects and their recurrent nature is likely to affect marine ecosystem functioning.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11206

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