Effects of Exposure of Pink Shrimp, Farfantepenaeus duorarum, Larvae to Macondo Canyon 252 Crude Oil and the Corexit Dispersant

Abstract

Abstract:The release of oil into the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) during the Deepwater Horizon event coincided with the white and pink shrimp spawning season. To determine the potential impact on shrimp larvae a series of static acute (24-96 h) toxicity studies with water accommodated fractions (WAFs) of Macondo Canyon (MC) 252 crude oil, the Corexit 9500A dispersant, and chemically enhanced WAFS (CEWAFs) were conducted with nauplii, zoea, mysid, and postlarval Farfantepenaeus duorarum. Median lethal concentrations (LC 50 ) were calculated and behavior responses (swimming, molting, light sensitivity) evaluated. Impacts were life stage dependent with zoea being the most sensitive. Behavioral responses for all stages, except postlarvae, occurred at below LC 50 values. Dispersants had the greatest negative impact while WAFs had the least. No short-term effects (survival, growth) were noted for nauplii exposed to sub-lethal CEWAFs 39 days post-exposure. This study points to the importance of evaluating multiple life stages to assess population effects following contaminant exposure and further, that the use of dispersants as a method of oil removal increases oil toxicity.

Antioxidant Response and Oxidative Stress in the Respiratory Tree of Sea Cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) Following Exposure to Crude Oil and Chemical Dispersant

“…The use of chemical dispersants following an accidental oil spill could enhance the natural process (e.g., dissolution and microbial biodegradation) of petroleum hydrocarbons by reducing the interfacial tension between oil slicks and water, and mitigate the impact of oil slicks on the coastal habitats and human activities [44]. Nevertheless, chemical dispersion could also lead to the dissolution of more oil-derived hydrocarbons from oil droplets into the water column and then raise the threat of dispersed oil components to marine organisms, especially to marine benthos [24,45]. Sea cucumber, as a common member of marine benthic communities and an important marine aquaculture species, is mainly cultured in the coastal zone, where it is easily threatened by oil pollution.…”

Avoidance tests as a tool to detect sublethal effects of oil‐impacted sediments

“…Monitoring of environmental stress resulting from oil and gas activities can be based on assays that use behavioral endpoints such as movement ability (Laramore et al 2016;Brown et al 2017). Animal behavior integrates biochemical and physiological processes in response to chemical stressors and is thus expected to be more sensitive than a lethal response (Hellou 2011), provided that an organism is able to sense a toxicant via olfaction or taste (Zimmer-Faust 1989); behavior may also potentially reflect changes at the population level (Basu 2015).…”

Effects of sea louse chemotherapeutants on early life stages of the spot prawn ( Pandalus platyceros )

“…For example, newly hatched, larval and juvenile grass shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio) were more sensitive than adults to the insecticides malathion, permethrin, etofenprox and diflubenzuron, and the fungicide chlorothalonil (DeLorenzo & De Leon, 2010;DeLorenzo et al, 2006;Key et al, 1998Key et al, , 2003Wilson & Costlow, 1987). Zoeal pink shrimp (Farfantepenaeus duorarum) were more sensitive than post-larval juveniles exposed to water-accommodated fractions of oil, as well as the oil dispersant Corexit 9500 (Laramore et al, 2016). Low concentrations of diflubenzuron were lethal to larval northern shrimp, and this toxicity was augmented by temperature to a greater degree in larvae than in adults (Bechmann et al, 2018).…”