Question
What are the effects of crude oil on marine life?
Answer
Crude oil spills have significant detrimental effects on marine life, impacting various species and ecosystems. These effects can be immediate or long-term, affecting the health, survival, and ecological balance of marine organisms.
Key Effects on Marine Life
Gene Expression and Stress Response: Marine sponges, such as Cinachyrella alloclada, show massive shifts in gene expression when exposed to crude oil, with upregulation of stress-related pathways and downregulation after prolonged exposure. This indicates a high sensitivity to oil pollution, affecting their role in maintaining water quality and ecosystem health (Desplat et al., 2023).
Microbial Populations: Crude oil spills alter the chemical properties of marine sediments, affecting benthic microbial populations. There is a decline in autotrophic microbial biomass and an increase in heterotrophic bacterial production, which can disrupt nutrient cycles and ecological balance (Kababu et al., 2022).
Coral Symbionts: Crude oil exposure reduces the competitive fitness of coral symbionts like Symbiodinium glynnii, affecting coral health and increasing vulnerability to other stressors like warming and acidification. This can lead to coral bleaching and reduced biodiversity (Müller et al., 2021).
Marine Invertebrates: Oil pollution induces metamorphosis in marine invertebrate larvae, potentially disrupting their life cycles and settlement patterns, which can have long-term impacts on population dynamics and biodiversity (Almeda et al., 2023).
Fish and Invertebrates: Chronic exposure to crude oil affects the growth, energy reserves, and survival of species like polar cod, although some species show resilience at certain exposure levels (Vieweg et al., 2021). In marine medaka, crude oil exposure leads to increased mortality and heart dysfunction in early life stages (Jin et al., 2023).
Symbiotic Relationships: Oil contamination affects symbiotic relationships, as seen in the decline of polychaete populations living in sponges after oil exposure, indicating increased mortality across all age classes (De Oliveira Lira et al., 2021).
Crude oil spills have profound and varied impacts on marine life, affecting gene expression, microbial populations, coral symbionts, and the health and survival of fish and invertebrates. These effects can disrupt ecological balance, reduce biodiversity, and impair the resilience of marine ecosystems to other environmental stressors. Addressing oil pollution is crucial for protecting marine biodiversity and ecosystem health.
References
Desplat, Y., Warner, J., Blake, E., Vijayan, N., Cuvelier, M., Blackwelder, P., & Lopez, J., 2023. Morphological and transcriptional effects of crude oil and dispersant exposure on the marine sponge Cinachyrella alloclada.. The Science of the total environment, pp. 162832. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162832
Kababu, E., Angel, D., Sisma‐Ventura, G., Belkin, N., Rubin-Blum, M., & Rahav, E., 2022. Effects of crude oil and gas condensate spill on coastal benthic microbial populations. **, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.1051460
Müller, M., Yogui, G., Gálvez, A., De Sales Jannuzzi, L., De Souza Filho, J., De Jesus Flores Montes, M., De Castro Melo, P., Neumann-Leitão, S., & Zanardi-Lamardo, E., 2021. Cellular accumulation of crude oil compounds reduces the competitive fitness of the coral symbiont Symbiodinium glynnii.. Environmental pollution, 289, pp. 117938. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117938
Vieweg, I., Bender, M., Semenchuk, P., Hop, H., & Nahrgang, J., 2021. Effects of chronic crude oil exposure on the fitness of polar cod (Boreogadus saida) through changes in growth, energy reserves and survival.. Marine environmental research, 174, pp. 105545. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105545
Jin, F., Wang, Y., Yu, F., Liu, X., Zhang, M., Li, Z., Yao, Z., Cong, Y., & Wang, J., 2023. Acute and Chronic Effects of Crude Oil Water-Accommodated Fractions on the Early Life Stages of Marine Medaka (Oryzias melastigma, McClelland, 1839). Toxics, 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11030236
Almeda, R., Rist, S., Christensen, A., Antoniou, E., Parinos, C., Olsson, M., & Young, C., 2023. Crude Oil and Its Burnt Residues Induce Metamorphosis in Marine Invertebrates. Environmental Science & Technology, 57, pp. 19304 – 19315. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c05194
De Oliveira Lira, A., Craveiro, N., Da Silva, F., & Filho, J., 2021. Effects of contact with crude oil and its ingestion by the symbiotic polychaete Branchiosyllis living in sponges (Cinachyrella sp.) following the 2019 oil spill on the tropical coast of Brazil.. The Science of the total environment, 801, pp. 149655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149655
