Echinoderms and oil pollution: A potential stress assay using bacterial symbionts

Oil pollution is a problem in the North Sea. Important sources of oil pollution are spills and drill cutting. Echinoderms are a major component of the macrobenthos in the North Sea (and elsewhere). They tend to be very sensitive to various types of marine pollution. Many species of echinoderms conta...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine pollution bulletin 1995, Vol.31 (4), p.453-456
Main Authors: Newton, L.C., McKenzie, J.D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Echinodermata
Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Marine
Marine and brackish environment
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Oil pollution is a problem in the North Sea. Important sources of oil pollution are spills and drill cutting. Echinoderms are a major component of the macrobenthos in the North Sea (and elsewhere). They tend to be very sensitive to various types of marine pollution. Many species of echinoderms contain symbiotic sub-cuticular bacteria (SCB). The response of Amphiura filiformis, A. chiajei and Ophiothrix fragilis, all of which contain SCB, to oil pollution was studied in laboratory experiments, mesocosms and in the field. Sublethal stress was monitored by examining changes in the tissue loading of SCB. When subjected to hydrocarbon insult, there was a decline in the number of SCB. The potential use of SCB abundance to detect sublethal stress is discussed.
ISSN:0025-326X
1879-3363
DOI:10.1016/0025-326X(95)00168-M