Lemcke Signe, Holding Johnna, Møller Eva Friis, Thyrring Jakob, Gustavson Kim, Juul-Pedersen Thomas, Sejr Mikael K
Department of Bioscience, Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark.
Department of Bioscience, Marine Diversity and Experimental Ecology, Aarhus University, 4000, Roskilde, Denmark.
Ecotoxicology. 2019 Jan;28(1):26-36. doi: 10.1007/s10646-018-1995-4. Epub 2018 Nov 20.
Arctic shipping and oil exploration are expected to increase, as sea ice extent is reduced. This enhances the risk for accidental oil spills throughout the Arctic, which emphasises the need to quantify potential consequences to the marine ecosystem and to evaluate risk and choose appropriate remediation methods. This study investigated the sensitivity of Arctic marine plankton to the water accommodated fraction (WAF) of heavy fuel oil. Arctic marine phytoplankton and copepods (Calanus finmarchicus) were exposed to three WAF concentrations corresponding to total hydrocarbon contents of 0.07 mg l, 0.28 mg l and 0.55 mg l. Additionally, the potential phototoxic effects of exposing the WAF to sunlight, including the UV spectrum, were tested. The study determined sub-lethal effects of WAF exposure on rates of key ecosystem processes: primary production of phytoplankton and grazing (faecal pellet production) of copepods. Both phytoplankton and copepods responded negatively to WAF exposure. Biomass specific primary production was reduced by 6, 52 and 73% and faecal pellet production by 18, 51 and 86% with increasing WAF concentrations compared to controls. The phototoxic effect reduced primary production in the two highest WAF concentration treatments by 71 and 91%, respectively. This experiment contributes to the limited knowledge of acute sub-lethal effects of potential oil spills to the Arctic pelagic food web.
随着海冰范围的缩小，北极航运和石油勘探预计将会增加。这增加了整个北极地区发生意外石油泄漏的风险，这突出了量化对海洋生态系统潜在影响以及评估风险并选择适当补救方法的必要性。本研究调查了北极海洋浮游生物对重质燃料油水相（WAF）的敏感性。将北极海洋浮游植物和桡足类动物（飞马哲水蚤）暴露于三种与总烃含量分别为0.07毫克/升、0.28毫克/升和0.55毫克/升相对应的WAF浓度下。此外，还测试了将WAF暴露于包括紫外线光谱在内的阳光下的潜在光毒性效应。该研究确定了WAF暴露对关键生态系统过程速率的亚致死效应：浮游植物的初级生产和桡足类动物的摄食（粪便颗粒产生）。浮游植物和桡足类动物对WAF暴露均产生负面反应。与对照相比，随着WAF浓度增加，生物量特定初级生产分别降低了6%、52%和73%，粪便颗粒产生分别降低了18%、51%和86%。光毒性效应使两种最高WAF浓度处理中的初级生产分别降低了71%和91%。该实验有助于补充关于潜在石油泄漏对北极远洋食物网急性亚致死效应的有限知识。
