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

• Published in: Nature communications 2016-04, Vol.7 (1), p.11206-11, Article 11206
• Main Authors: Brussaard, Corina P. D., Peperzak, Louis, Beggah, Siham, Wick, Lukas Y., Wuerz, Birgit, Weber, Jan, Samuel Arey, J., van der Burg, Bart, Jonas, Arjen, Huisman, Johannes, van der Meer, Jan Roelof
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 38/5; 631/158/2446; 704/106/829/826; 96/10; 96/31; Animals; Bioavailability; Biological Assay; Biota - drug effects; Biota - physiology; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Survival - drug effects; Chemical spills; Crude oil; Hepatocytes - cytology; Hepatocytes - drug effects; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; North Sea; Oil spills; Petroleum - toxicity; Petroleum Pollution - analysis; Phytoplankton - drug effects; Phytoplankton - growth & development; Rats; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Seawater; Synechococcus - drug effects; Synechococcus - growth & development; Toxicity; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11206

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 m 3 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. Large oil spills have negative effects on marine ecosystems, but the effects of chronic smallscale spills are less well understood. Here, Brussaard et al . detect high bioavailability and toxicity of small-scale crude oil spills within 24 hours after release, which are associated with localised declines in marine plankton.