The toxicity of petroleum oils to birds

Abstract

LEIGHTON, F.A. 1993. The toxicity of petroleum oils to birds. Environ. Rev. 1: 92-103. Mortality of aquatic birds occurs regularly as a consequence of spills of petroleum oils. There are three different ways in which such oils can affect birds. (i) External contamination of feathers is the most common form of exposure, and the effect of oils on feathers is the single most devastating effect of oil on birds. Feathers absorb oil, become matted, and lose the critical properties of water repellency, insulation, and flight. Death results from combinations of hypothermia, starvation, and drowning. (ii) Avian embryos are highly sensitive to oil that contaminates the egg shell; amounts as little as 1-10 pL are lethal to embryos during the first half of incubation. (iii) Birds ingest oil when preening oiled plumage or ingesting oiled nutrients. At least three toxic effects of ingested oil are well documented: a nonspecific response as a stressor that is additive or synergistic with those of other stressors, impairments in reproduction ranging from lowered fertility to abandonment of reproductive effort, and severe oxidant damage to red blood cells. The effect of oil pollution on bird populations is very difficult to document and is likely to remain uncertain because of the many ecological factors that may occur in association with an oil-spill event.LEIGHTON, F.A. 1993. The toxicity of petroleum oils to birds. Environ. Rev. 1 : 92-103.Les deversements d'huiles de petrole entrainent frkquemment la mortalitk d'oiseaux aquatiques. Ces huiles agissent de trois faqons diffkrentes sur les oiseaux. (i) La forme d'action la plus frkquente et la plus dommageable pour les oiseaux consiste en une contamination exteme des plumes. Les plumes absorbent l'huile qui les enduit et celles-qi perdent leurs propriktks hydrophobes particuliitres, ainsi que celles d'isolation et d'aptitude au vol. La mort fait suite a l'hypothermie, a l'inanition et a la noyade. (ii) Les embryons d'oiseaux sont trits sensibles a l'huile qui contamine la coquille des oeufs; des quantitks aussi petites que 1-10 pL sont mortelles pour les embryons pendant la premikre partie de l'incubation. (iii) Les oiseaux ingkrent de l'huile en lissant leurs plumes couvertes d'huile ou en mangeant de la nourriture enduite d'huile. 11 existe au moins trois effets toxiques bien documentks de ]'ingestion d'huile : une rkaction non-specifique comme agent stressant qui s'ajoute de faqon synergique avec ceux d'autres agents stressants, une deterioration de la reproduction allant d'une baisse de fertilite jusqu'ri l'arrtt total de l'effort de reproduction et des dommages importants par oxydation aux globules rouges sanguins. 11 est trits difficile de reunir la documentation des effets de la pollution par l'huile sur les populations d'oiseaux et ceci risque de demeurer inchangk, compte-tenu des nombreux facteurs ecologiques qui peuvent ttre impliques en relation avec les kvknements de dkversement de pktrole.

Toxic effects of orally ingested oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill on laughing gulls

“…As many of the oil exposed birds were inappetent, especially prior to death, it is possible that dehydration resulted in hemoconcentration and increased PCVs, masking hemolytic anemia due to oil exposure. The presence of Heinz bodies and degenerate organelles in the RBCs in both groups of oil-dosed LAGUs (but not in the control group) indicates that a component of oil-induced anemia could be the result of oxide radical damage of RBCs and intravascular hemolysis as previously documented Leighton, 1985Leighton, , 1993Troisi et al, 2007). This response is consistent with that reported in other avian species dosed with oil (Fry and Lowenstine, 1985;Hartung and Hunt, 1966;Lee et al, 1985;Leighton, 1985Leighton, , 1993Pattee and Franson, 1982;Szaro et al, 1978) or exposed to oil as the result of a spill (Yamato et al, 1996).…”

Potential Effects on Seabirds and Marine Mammals of Petroleum Activity in the Northern Barents Sea

“…Holmes & 8 Cronshaw 1977;Folkestad 1983; 984; Leighton et al 1985;Piatt et al 1991;Leighton 1993;Jenssen 1994;Nisbet 1994 a minimum of 100,000 to 500,000 individuals, mostly auks Fry 1993;Piatt 1995).…”

“…Small amounts of oil on eggs has been found to cause a major reduction in hatchability, especial ly early in the incubation period (King & Lefever 1979;Albers 1980;Lewis & Malecki 1984 ;Leighton 1993;Oakley & Kuletz 1993). Surviv ing hatchlings may be malformed (Hoffman & Albers 1984).…”

“…In gestion of oil is generally stressful for birds and induces a physiological response (Leighton 1993). The physiological effects are increased in birds stressed simultaneously by other means, such as cold weather or food shortage (Holmes & Cronshaw 1977).…”

Monitoring Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Pollution in the Marine Environment after the Prestige Oil Spill by Means of Seabird Blood Analysis

“…Petroleum products are toxic to seabirds (15). Life history characteristics of seabirds make them particularly vulnerable to oil pollution (14) because they spend much of their lives on the ocean's surface and because their populations concentrate in habitats prone to high oil exposure (16).…”