title: Developmental toxicity of Louisiana crude oil-spiked sediment to zebrafish.
abstract: Embryonic exposures to the components of petroleum, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), cause a characteristic suite of developmental defects and cardiotoxicity in a variety of fish species. We exposed zebrafish embryos to reference sediment mixed with laboratory weathered South Louisiana crude oil and to sediment collected from an oiled site in Barataria Bay, Louisiana in December 2010. Laboratory oiled sediment exposures caused a reproducible set of developmental malformations in zebrafish embryos including yolk sac and pericardial edema, craniofacial and spinal defects, and tissue degeneration. Dose-response studies with spiked sediment showed that total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (tPAH) concentrations of 27mg tPAH/kg (dry weight normalized to 1 percent organic carbon [1 percent OC]) caused a significant increase in defects, and concentrations above 78mg tPAH/kg 1 percent OC caused nearly complete embryo mortality. No toxicity was observed in Barataria sediment with 2mg tPAH/kg 1 percent OC. Laboratory aging of spiked sediment at 4°C resulted in a nearly 10-fold decrease in sensitivity over a 40-day period. This study demonstrates oiled sediment as an exposure pathway to fish with dose-dependent effects on embryogenesis that are consistent with PAH mechanisms of developmental toxicity. The results have implications for effects on estuarine fish from oiled coastal areas during the Deepwater Horizon spill.
authors.affiliation: US Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf Ecology Division, 1 Sabine Island Drive, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561, USA. Electronic address: Raimondo.sandy@epa.gov.
authors.forename: Sandy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Raimondo
authors.affiliation: US Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf Ecology Division, 1 Sabine Island Drive, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561, USA.
authors.forename: Crystal R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.affiliation: US Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf Ecology Division, 1 Sabine Island Drive, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561, USA.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Krzykwa
authors.affiliation: US Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf Ecology Division, 1 Sabine Island Drive, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561, USA.
authors.forename: Becky L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Hemmer
authors.affiliation: US Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf Ecology Division, 1 Sabine Island Drive, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561, USA.
authors.forename: Jill A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Awkerman
authors.affiliation: US Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf Ecology Division, 1 Sabine Island Drive, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561, USA.
authors.forename: Mace G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Barron
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D010578:Petroleum / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D059392:Petroleum Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000633:toxicity; D011897:Random Allocation; D014887:Weather; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology*
chemical_list: D010578:Petroleum; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
keywords: Embryo development; Sediment exposure; South Louisiana crude oil; Toxicity; Zebrafish