Short-term low salinity mitigates effects of oil and dispersant on juvenile eastern oysters: A laboratory experiment with implications for oil spill response activities.

ABSTRACT: Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) reefs in the northern Gulf of Mexico were exposed to oil and various associated clean-up activities that may have compromised oyster reef health. Included in the exposure was oil, dispersant, and in some locales, atypical salinity regimes. Oil and dispersants can be detrimental to oysters and the effects of salinity depend on the level. In addition to these extrinsic factors, genetic diversity of oyster populations may help the oysters respond to stressors, as demonstrated in other systems. We used a 3×3×2 factorial design to experimentally examine the effects of oil/dispersed oil, intraspecific genetic diversity, and salinity on juvenile (ca. 25 mm shell height) oyster survivorship and growth during a 21-d e

SUBMITTER: Schrandt M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6128549 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature