Effects of Pollution on Marine Organisms
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Effects of Pollution on Marine Organisms Alan J. Mearns1*, Donald J. Reish2, Philip S. Oshida3, Thomas Ginn4, Mary Ann Rempel-Hester5, Courtney Arthur6, Nicolle Rutherford1 and Rachel Pryor1 to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil blowout in the Gulf of ABSTRACT: This review covers selected 2014 Mexico and the 2011 Japanese tsunami. Several topical articles on the biological effects of pollutants and human areas reviewed in the past (ballast water and ocean physical disturbances on marine and estuarine plants, acidification) were dropped this year. The focus of this animals, ecosystems and habitats. The review, based review is on effects, not pollutant fate and transport. There largely on journal articles, covers field and laboratory is considerable overlap across subject areas (e.g. some measurement activities (bioaccumulation of contaminants, bioaccumulation papers may be cited in other topical field assessment surveys, toxicity testing and biomarkers) categories). Please use keyword searching of the text to as well as pollution issues of current interest including locate related but distributed papers. Use this review only endocrine disrupters, emerging contaminants, wastewater as a guide and please consult the original papers before discharges, dredging and disposal, etc. Special emphasis is citing them. placed on effects of oil spills and marine debris due in part KEYWORDS: Tissue residues, toxicity, 1* Emergency Response Division, National Oceanic and bioaccumulation, biomagnification, biomarkers, sediment Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 7600 Sand Point Way quality, ecological risk assessment, endocrine disrupters, NE, Seattle, WA 98115; Tel.206-526-6336; email: nano particles, POPs, PCBs, PAHs, PBDEs, radionuclides, 2 [email protected]; Professor Emeritus, Department of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, trace metals, Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, pesticides, biomarkers, marine biocides, oil spills, CA; 3Lives in Virginia, works at the U.S. Environmental dispersants, sewage, debris, dredging, eutrophication, Protection Agency. 4Exponent, Inc, Sedona, AZ; 5 Partner, human disturbance, Arctic, Antarctic. Aquatic Toxicology Support, Bremerton, WA.. 6Industrial doi: 10.2175/106143015X14338845156380 Economics, Inc, Cambridge, MA. We thank NOAA Librarians Brian Voss and Clara Salazar for considerable help in locating papers. 1718 Water Environment Research, Volume 87, Number 10—Copyright © 2015 Water Environment Federation Syntheses and Overviews heavy oiling and aggressive cleanup. Detailed response Understanding the effects of chronic urban recommendations are provided. contamination on the longterm productivity of anadromous Using worldwide tissue data collected as early as fish populations has been a challenge, requiring synthesis the mid-1970s, Law (2014) reviewed longterm trends of of habitat, contaminant and fish population patterns and synthetic organic chemical contamination of marine trends. Meador (2014) published a synthesis of mammals. Concentrations of organochlorine pesticides, information on multidecadal-long smolt-to-adult return PBDE’s and butyltins have been slowly decreasing but also (SAR) rates of several dozen hatchery-released Chinook appear stalled and several are still at concentrations of salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Coho salmon (O. considerable concern in killer whales and bottlenose kisutch) populations, comparing return rates with physical dolphins. Data is insufficient to detwermine trends for and chemical charachteristics of a wide range of urbanized perflorinated compounds, dioxans, furnans and related to rural estuaries in southern, central and northern Puget compounds. Sound, Washington (USA). The study included existing and historical data on contaminant loadings of estuariene Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification sediments, biota, and in salmon. Overall return rates of Tabular Data. Table 1 lists examples of the Chinook salmon, whose juveniles have long residence concentration of contaminants in tissues of marine plants times in their estuaries, were significantly lower than for and animals in 2014. Data are presented alphabetically by Chinook from less-contaminated rural estuaries whereas element then by organic compound and arranged by Coho salmon, whose juveniles run to sea rapidly showed no geographical area, concentration and author. Following are urban vs. less human-influenced differences in return rates. reviews of selected additional papers that report on body The author concluded that chemical contamination, marked burdens, bioaccumulation and biomagnification. by PCBs, has been a significant factor in the depressed Metals. The interspecific variations in 15 trace Chinook return rates, additive to impacts from habitat element accumulation in 26 species of green, brown and disruption and other factors. red seaweeds were measured in collections in the Aegean Michel and Rutherford (2014) conducted a Sea (Malea et al. 2014). Brown algae showed higher detailed synthesis of historical information on the impacts concentrations of arsenic and strontium than the other and recovery rates of oiled marshes marshes. The review elements. Finely branched seaweeds had higher covered 32 cases of oil spills field experiments finding that concentrations of cadmium, cobalt, copper, manganese and in most cases recovery of marsh systems occurred within vanadium than species with broad thalli. There were two growing seasons. Recovery was slowest (many species differences, for example, the brown algal species growing seasons) in marshes subject to cold climates, Cystoseira had the highest concentration of arsenic, the red 1719 Water Environment Research, Volume 87, Number 10—Copyright © 2015 Water Environment Federation species Ceramium with manganese, and the red upon the animals from the local area. A risk assessment Polysphonia and green Ulva had the highest amounts of study was conducted in a marine bay in China to determine cadmium and selenium. It was concluded by Malea et al. if butytin used in biofouling control would bioaccumulate (2014) that the structure of the species of algae was the in organisms used for food. It was found that few if any determining factor in the bioaccumulation of the element. harmful compounds would occur in humans from The red seaweed Gracilaria lemaneiformis is an important consumptions of the cultured fish (Hu et al., 2014). plant used for food and for production of pharmaceuticals. Sublethal concentrations of cadmium, lead and a Laboratory experiments were conducted to measure the combination of the two elements were measured on mussel bioaccumulations of cadmium, copper and lead (Wang, gill tissue (Poynton et al. 2014). Results of gene ontology Wang and Ke, 2014). Concentrations of copper and identified several biological processes affected including cadmium in tissues were higher when the two elements nucleotide phosphate synthesis. These responses served as were together compared to the elements alone. The results early indicators of stress which can lead to adverse indicated that bioaccumulation does occur and that physiological effects (Poynton et al., 2014). cultivation of the alga should be in clean sea water. Nanoparticles. The fate and effects of Kalantzi and associates (2014) measured the nanoparticles on a clam and polychaete were reviewed by uptake of 28 elements in polychaetes, amphipods, Mouney et al. (2014). Data were analyzed to determine decapods, molluscans and echinoderms at increasing which route of exposure influenced bioaccumulation. distances from fish farms in Greece. Fish were also Soluble nanoparticles attached to seawater molecules measured for bioaccumulation of the same elements. The which were taken up in both species. The effect of invertebrates accumulated lower amounts of most elements cadmium sulfide nanoparticles on the biochemical and than those measured in the sediments except arsenic, behavior responses to the polychaete Hediste divericolor phosphorus, sodium, cadmium and zinc. Tolerant species, was measured by Buffet et al. (2014a). Both solutions of such as most of the species of polychaetes, accumulated cadmium and cadmium nanoparticles were accumulated higher concentrations of many of the 28 elements studied by the polychaete. Behavior was measured by the number than the more sensitive species in different animals groups. of body undulations. Body movements were impaired Biomagnification of mercury was noted in fish feeding on when exposed to cadmium nanoparticles compared to benthic invertebrates in the vicinity of the fish cages. control. An experimental study with mussel, Mytilus A stable nitrogen isotope was used to document galloprovincialis, was conducted by Balbi et al. (2014) to the biomagnification pathway of mercury and selenium determine if manoparticles, as n-TiO2, and cadmium occurs in fish (Jones et al. 2014). Results indicated that together would induce measureable stress responses mercury but not selenium was taken up by fish feeding (biomarkers) without toxicity. The co-exposure of n-TiO2 1720 Water Environment Research, Volume 87, Number 10—Copyright © 2015 Water Environment Federation and cadmium resulted in effects on lysomal biomarkers and An evaluation was made of the effect of diuron, a embryoni c development. However the toxicants did not photosynthetic inhibitor, used in sugar fields near the Great result in an increase in adverse effects. Barrier Reef, Australia (Holms et al. 2014). In a 12 year Tian et al. (2014) studied the impact of titanium