The ?Tsesis? oil spill: Acute and long-term impact on the benthos

Elmgren, Ragnar; Hansson, Sture; Larsson, Ulf; Sundelin, Brita; Boehm, Paul D.

doi:10.1007/bf00396285

Cited by 164 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…In the case of both mature individuals and juveniles grown at various zinc concentrations, embryogenesis of C. volutator was affected. The damaging effects of trace metals on the embryogenesis of some amphipod species has been reported previously (Elmgren et al 1983, Sundelin 1983) Zinc also directly reduced the survivorship of the new-born juveniles since, as pointed out above, this stage is one of the most sensitive.…”

Section: In Crustaceansmentioning

confidence: 72%

Effects of zinc on the life-cycle, growth and reproduction of the marine amphipod Corophium volutator

Conradi¹,

Depledge²

1999

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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The effects of zinc concentrations on the life-history, growth and reproduction of Corophium volutator (Pallas, 1766) were investigated Amphipods were exposed for 100 d to 4 sublethal zinc concentrations (0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 mg I-') Except for the highest concentration tested, zinc exposure did not affect the life-span of C. volutator, although the number of surviving amphipods decreased with increasing concentrations. Life expectancy at the end of the experiment differed at the various zinc exposure concentrations (p < 0.001). Zinc concentrations higher than 0.6 mg l-' reduced longevity up to 20% in comparison with controls. Growth was also impaired. The degree of reduction in growth rate increased with increasing metal concentration. Amphipods exposed to 0.2 mg Zn 1-' exhibited a reduction of 6 . 4 %~ in the specific growth rate (SGR), while those grown at 0.4. 0.6, and 0.8 mg Zn 1-' exhibited reductions in SGR of 8, 9 and 24.6"6, respect~vely. The length of mature amphipods was also reduced following zinc exposure (p < 0.05). Sex ratio was unaffected (p = 0.44), however maturation rates were slightly reduced and fertility was greatly impaired. Survival of ovigerous females and fertility were also affected by zinc when mature amphipods were exposed to these concentrations. The relationship between growth and reproduction as well as the use of growth as an endpoint in ecotoxicological studies is discussed.

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Section: In Crustaceansmentioning

confidence: 72%

Effects of zinc on the life-cycle, growth and reproduction of the marine amphipod Corophium volutator

Conradi¹,

Depledge²

1999

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…The herbivores in turn were severely decimated, namely the mobile herbivore species. We believe that herbivores such as amphipods and isopods were negatively affected due to characteristics of their escape behaviour and hydrophobic properties of their body [20,37,38]. The decline of amphipods is also known to be the most consistent pattern of previous oil spills [12,39].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…The deposit feeders were likely gain due to the increase of organic matter in the system [20,36]. The prevailing clam Macoma balthica is known to be extremely tolerant to oil exposure and can benefit from spills [20].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The prevailing clam Macoma balthica is known to be extremely tolerant to oil exposure and can benefit from spills [20]. The herbivores in turn were severely decimated, namely the mobile herbivore species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sessile species are more susceptible to physical disturbances than mobile species and rely completely on local food levels [19]. Consequently, different functional groups are influenced by different environmental factors and this difference may explain a high degree of variability in the response of benthic invertebrate communities to oil spills [11,19,20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Predicting ecological resilience of marine benthic communities facing a high risk of oil spills

Kotta¹,

Aps²,

Herkül³

2008

WIT Transactions on the Built Environment

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Ecosystem resilience emphasizes two different aspects of stability, i.e. the capacity of an ecosystem to tolerate disturbances (sensitivity) and rebuild itself when necessary (recovery). This paper examines the relationships between the magnitude of oil spill and the resilience of benthic invertebrate communities in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea during 2006-2007. We analyzed whether and how depth, sediment type, topographic structure and exposure contributed to these relationships. Predictive spatial modelling was used to extrapolate the sensitivity of benthic invertebrate communities into the whole gulf scale based on the knowledge of the combined effects of environmental variability, oil exposure and biotic patterns. Predictive modelling provides managers with a useful and cost-efficient tool in reducing the potential oil spill related environmental risk by, e.g., redirecting shipping away from sites that have high sensitivity and low recovery potential, and by allocating sufficient oil combating resources to protect those areas in the case of oil accident.

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