Board Ac)on on the Report Inges)on and Effects of Dispersed Oil on - PDF document

5/1/13 Board Ac)on on the Report ‐ Inges)on and Effects of Dispersed Oil on Marine Zooplankton by Richard Lee Skidaway Ins7tute of Oceanography, Savannah, GA C‐130 Hercules Drops Dispersant on the Deepwater Horizon Spill 1

5/1/13 Agenda Item This agenda item asks the board to approve the final report funded under this project 7tled “Inges7on and Effects of Dispersed Oil on Marine Zooplankton” Background ‐ • Review of recent research regarding: • the uptake and effects of dispersed oil by zooplankton (large plankton from the animal kingdom, i.e. not plants), and • iden7fies gaps in the research where further inves7ga7on is needed • September 2012 – Board presenta7on on the dra[ report by Dick Lee of the Skidaway Ins7tute of Oceanography Evidence of Inges)on of Oil by Zooplankton aBer a Spill • Copepods with oil droplets found in areas of large oil spills • Crab larvae with oil droplets off the coast of Louisiana a[er Deepwater Horizon spill • Zooplankton collected a[er Deepwater Horizon spill had deple7on of C13 and petroleum PAHs • Laboratory studies have shown inges7on of oil droplets by salps and copepods 2

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5/1/13 Fecal pellets with oil droplets being formed in gut of a doliolid. Ready for discharge. 4

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5/1/13 Gaps and Priori)es in Future Research Iden7fied a number of major gaps in research focusing on the dispersant and oil effects on marine zooplankton that can be used to guide future research. Some of these include; Perhaps the highest priority for the PWS region is to determine the effects of • dispersants and dispersed oil on important zooplankton groups, par7cularly herring larvae • Un7l recently most studies with dispersants and dispersed oil have used estuarine or nearshore zooplankton Rela7vely few studies have been carried out on open ocean zooplankton • More sublethal effects research on the reproduc7on and growth of open • ocean zooplankton, par7cularly fish larvae, that have previously shown to be quite sensi7ve to low concentra7ons of dispersed oil Lethal and sublethal effects research of the non‐ionic surfactants versus ionic • surfactants present in commercial dispersants 6

5/1/13 Requested Board Ac)on • Accept the final report funded under this project 7tled “Inges7on and Effects of Dispersed Oil on Marine Zooplankton” dra[ed by Dick Lee of the Skidaway Ins7tute of Oceanography 7