Effects of different concentrations of crude oil on first feeding larvae of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus)

Studies have shown that exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other oil related components alter normal fish larvae development and can cause increased mortality in early life stages. Modelling of results from controlled laboratory exposure experiments will help relate typical oil exposure parameters (biomarkers) to field observations and are valuable tools for oil exposure monitoring and risk assessment. Post yolk sack larval stages of Atlantic herring were exposed to different concentrations of dispersed Arctic crude oil. The selected nominal concentrations were 0.015, 0.040, 0.060, 0.250 and 0.750 mg l− 1 raw dispersed oil (0.129, 0.373, 0.496, 2.486 and 6.019 μg l− 1 Total Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (TPAH) respectively), and control seawater in flow through systems. The larvae were exposed for 12 days and daily mortality recorded in all treatments. Thereafter, the larvae were transported to two large (300 l) rearing tanks, one for control/trace oil and one for oil exposed larvae. The larvae were allowed to recover for 8 weeks after exposure, and mortality and morphological factors then assessed, giving preliminary information on recovery of Atlantic herring larvae after oil exposure. Throughout the testing period, there was a general trend for higher mortality of herring larvae in the oil exposure concentrations than in control, and significantly higher mortality was found in all oil concentrations than in the control after 12 days. We did not detect a clear dose related mortality for our test concentrations, except for the highest concentration. There was no difference found in mortality rates of the herring larvae from either the oil or control/trace oil batch during the recovery phase during the following 60 days. Morphological observations of the herring larvae after 2 months recovery in clean seawater showed that the oil exposed larvae had morphological features that could be described as deformities, and growth was found to be significantly impaired for the oil exposed group when compared to the control/trace oil group.