Nova Southeastern University, Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, Dania, FL, USA.
Sci Rep. 2021 Jan 12;11(1):529. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-80055-0.
Coral reefs are keystone coastal ecosystems that are at risk of exposure to petroleum from a range of sources, and are one of the highest valued natural resources for protection in Net Environmental Benefit Analysis (NEBA) in oil spill response. Previous research evaluating dissolved hydrocarbon impacts to corals reflected no clear characterization of sensitivity, representing an important knowledge gap in oil spill preparedness related to the potential impact of oil spills to the coral animal and its photosymbiont zooxanthellae. This research addresses this gap, using a standardized toxicity protocol to evaluate effects of a dissolved reference hydrocarbon on scleractinian corals. The relative sensitivity of five Atlantic scleractinian coral species to hydrocarbon exposure was assessed with 48-h assays using the reference polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon 1-methylnaphthalene, based on physical coral condition, mortality, and photosynthetic efficiency. The threatened staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis was found to be the most sensitive to 1-methylnaphthalene exposure. Overall, the acute and subacute endpoints indicated that the tested coral species were comparatively more resilient to hydrocarbon exposure than other marine species. These results provide a framework for the prediction of oil spill impacts and impact thresholds on the coral animal and related habitats, essential for informing oil spill response in coastal tropical environments.
珊瑚礁是沿海生态系统的基石，它们面临着来自多种来源的石油暴露的风险，并且是在溢油应急的净环境效益分析 (NEBA) 中保护的最有价值的自然资源之一。先前评估溶解烃对珊瑚影响的研究没有明确表征敏感性，这代表了与溢油对珊瑚动物及其共生藻类虫黄藻的潜在影响相关的溢油准备方面的一个重要知识空白。本研究通过使用标准化毒性方案来评估溶解参考烃对石珊瑚的影响，解决了这一空白。使用参考多环芳烃 1-甲基萘进行了 48 小时的测定，评估了 5 种大西洋石珊瑚物种对烃暴露的相对敏感性，根据珊瑚的物理状况、死亡率和光合作用效率进行评估。发现受威胁的鹿角珊瑚 Acropora cervicornis 对 1-甲基萘的暴露最为敏感。总体而言，急性和亚急性终点表明，与其他海洋物种相比，测试的珊瑚物种对烃暴露的适应能力更强。这些结果为预测溢油对珊瑚动物及其相关栖息地的影响和影响阈值提供了框架，对于沿海热带环境中的溢油应急响应至关重要。
