Effects of Exposure to Low Concentrations of Oil on the Expression of Cytochrome P4501a and Routine Swimming Speed of Atlantic Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) Larvae In Situ

Abstract

Exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of oil could impact survival of fish larvae in situ through subtle effects on larval behavior. During the larval period, Atlantic haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) are transported toward nursery grounds by ocean currents and active swimming, which can modify their drift route. Haddock larvae are sensitive to dispersed oil; however, whether exposure to oil during development impacts the ability of haddock larvae to swim in situ is unknown. Here, we exposed Atlantic haddock embryos to 10 and 80 μg oil/L (0.1 and 0.8 μg ∑PAH/L) of crude oil for 8 days and used a novel approach to measure its effect on the larval swimming behavior in situ. We assessed the swimming behavior of 138 haddock larvae in situ, in the North Sea, using a transparent drifting chamber. Expression of cytochrome P4501a (cyp1a) was also measured. Exposure to 10 and 80 μg oil/L significantly reduced the average in situ routine swimming speed by 30–40% compared to the controls. Expression of cyp1a was significantly higher in both exposed groups. This study reports key information for improving oil spill risk assessment models and presents a novel approach to study sublethal effects of pollutants on fish larvae in situ.

An annual profile of the impacts of simulated oil spills on the Northeast Arctic cod and haddock fisheries

“…These four parameter sets encompass a wide range of uncertainty in both threshold levels and effects for petroleum compounds (Carroll et al, 2018). For context, the lowest reported effect concentration for haddock is 10 μg/L of oil (0.1 μg/L ∑ PAH) (Cresci et al, 2020). For cod, the lowest nominal crude oil concentration is 140 μg/L (Nordtug et al, 2022).…”

“…Such studies have revealed effects that include cardiac function, cholesterol biosynthesis, peripheral and central nervous system function, the stress response, osmoregulatory acid-base balance processes and photo-induced toxic responses (Barron et al, 2004;Incardona et al, 2013Incardona et al, , 2015Roberts et al, 2017;Grosell and Pasparakis, 2021;Sørhus et al, 2021;Aranguren-Abadía et al, 2022). In the past decade, there has further been an increase in studies focused on behavioral responses to oil exposures and the transfer of toxic substances from parent to offspring (Incardona et al, 2015;Cresci et al, 2020;Bautista et al, 2020). These investigations aid efforts to identify and understand impacts on aquatic life and to support risk management procedures.…”

Intraspecific Variation in the Sublethal Effects of Physically and Chemically Dispersed Crude Oil on Early Life Stages of Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua)

“…Along with cardiotoxic effects, oil exposure has been found to increase the oxygen consumption rate of early life stages of warm‐ and cold‐water fishes (Cohen et al, 2001; Eldridge et al, 1977; Klinger et al, 2015; Pasparakis et al, 2016), which may allocate energy away from fitness‐related performance such as growth, development, foraging, and swim performance/predator avoidance (Incardona et al, 2014; Klinger et al, 2015; Laurel et al, 2019; Pasparakis et al, 2016). Exposure of embryonic and larval fishes to physically dispersed crude oil has been linked to concentration‐dependent increases in the incidence and severity of spinal curvatures (Khursigara et al, 2017; Nahrgang et al, 2016) and yolk‐sac edemas (Incardona et al, 2014; Laurel et al, 2019; Nahrgang et al, 2016) and decreases in swim performance (Cresci et al, 2020; Mager et al, 2014) and hatching success (Hansen et al, 2019; Laurel et al, 2019). Overall, environmentally relevant oil exposure appears to be highly detrimental to developing warm‐ and cold‐water fishes.…”

Cardiac dysfunction affects eye development and vision by reducing supply of lipids in fish

“…In particular, functional and developmental heart abnormalities, jaw and abnormally shaped eyes and/or reduced eye size have been documented [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] . Later in life (juveniles and adult stages), these impairments may lead to increased injuries, developmental delays, changes in swimming capacity and mortality [8][9][10] .…”