title: Immediate ecotoxicological effects of short-lived oil spills on marine biota.
abstract: Marine environments are frequently exposed to oil spills as a result of transportation, oil drilling or fuel usage. Whereas large oil spills and their effects have been widely documented, more common and recurrent small spills typically escape attention. To fill this important gap in the assessment of oil-spill effects, we performed two independent supervised full sea releases of 5 m(3) of crude oil, complemented by on-board mesocosm studies and sampling of accidentally encountered slicks. Using rapid on-board biological assays, we detect high bioavailability and toxicity of dissolved and dispersed oil within 24 h after the spills, occurring fairly deep (8 m) below the slicks. Selective decline of marine plankton is observed, equally relevant for early stages of larger spills. Our results demonstrate that, contrary to common thinking, even small spills have immediate adverse biological effects and their recurrent nature is likely to affect marine ecosystem functioning.
authors.affiliation: NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry and Utrecht University, PO Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands.|Department of Aquatic Microbiology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94248, 1090 GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Corina P D
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Brussaard
authors.affiliation: NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry and Utrecht University, PO Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Louis
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0691-2521
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Peperzak
authors.affiliation: Department of Fundamental Microbiology, Bâtiment Biophore, Quartier UNIL-Sorge, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Siham
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Beggah
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, D-04318 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Lukas Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Wick
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, D-04318 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Birgit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wuerz
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, D-04318 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.affiliation: Environmental Chemistry Modeling Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.|Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Samuel Arey
authors.affiliation: BioDetection Systems BV, Science Park 406, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Bart
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: van der Burg
authors.affiliation: BioDetection Systems BV, Science Park 406, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Arjen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jonas
authors.affiliation: Rijkswaterstaat Zee en Delta, Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Milieu, Lange Kleiweg 34, 2288 GK Rijswijk, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huisman
authors.affiliation: Department of Fundamental Microbiology, Bâtiment Biophore, Quartier UNIL-Sorge, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jan Roelof
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: van der Meer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001681:Biological Assay; D058448:Biota / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D009659:North Sea; D010578:Petroleum / Q000633:toxicity*; D059392:Petroleum Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D010839:Phytoplankton / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D051381:Rats; D046940:Synechococcus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D010578:Petroleum; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical