A comparison of the short term effects of diesel fuel and lubricant oils on Antarctic benthic microbial communities

Effects of two lubricant oils on marine nematode assemblages in a laboratory microcosm experiment

“…However, Eisentraeger et al (2002) found that neither usage nor the presence of additives such as antioxidants affected the biodegradability of oils. Powell et al (2005) demonstrated that the Antarctic benthic microbial communities in the ''clean" and used lubricant treatments were not significantly different. By chemical analysis of the sediments, these authors found that the same components were lost from both the ''clean" and used Mobil 0 W-40 and they concluded that in the short-term the effect of used oil on microbes is not appreciably different to that of the ''clean", unused product.…”

“…2, Table 3). Synthetic oils contain additives (Thompson et al (2007)) that are known to be highly toxic to many aquatic organisms (Drzyzga, 2003) and are often more recalcitrant to biodegradation than the base oil (Powell et al, 2005).…”

“…Additive compounds within lubricants (e.g. di-phenylamines), are known to be highly toxic to certain aquatic organisms (Drzyzga, 2003) and are often more recalcitrant to biodegradation than the base oil (Powell et al, 2005). Therefore, additives are the most limiting components in synthetic lubricant oils (Willing, 2001).…”

“…The effects of crude and refined petroleum hydrocarbons on benthic fauna have been extensively studied following real oil spills (Krebs and Burns, 1977;Boucher et al, 1980;Bodin, 1988;McGuinness, 1990;Teal et al, 1992;Agard et al, 1993;Moore and Stevenson, 1997;Smith and Simpson, 1998;Jewett et al, 1999;Michel and Hayes, 1999), in field experiments (Alongi et al, 1983;Decker and Fleeger, 1984;PlanteCuny et al, 1993;Christie and Berge, 1995;Feder and Blanchard, 1998), experimental mesocosms (Farke et al, 1985;Frithsen et al, 1985) and laboratory microcosms (Grassle et al, 1981;Carman et al, 2000;Mahmoudi et al, 2005), but the influence of lubricant oils on natural communities is poorly understood. The few studies concerning engine lubricants and benthic organisms (Powell et al, 2005;Thompson et al, 2007) have been conducted using Antarctic assemblages, and there are no studies reporting the impacts to Mediterranean species or under temperate environmental conditions.…”

Geochemical markers of soil anthropogenic contaminants in polar scientific stations nearby (Antarctica, King George Island)

“…Greenpeace 1992-1993 Antarctic Expedition Report). Heavy metals, fossil fuels of variable characteristics, particularly their polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), additives, and polychlorinated organic compounds seem to be of the highest hazard to the Antarctica biosphere (Powell et al, 2005;Miranda-Filho et al, 2007;Ribeiro et al, 2011;Cabrerizo et al, 2012;Guerra et al, 2013).…”