FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 73, NO. 3 



O 48-H AGED NO. 2 FUEL OIL 



EXPOSED TO SURFACE SLICK 

 14 DAYS AFTER REMOVAL 



EXPOSED TO SURFACE SLICK 

 35 DAYS AFTER REMOVAL 



9 



u 



o 



. O 



s z 

 Q. a. 

 a. a. 



CO _i 



2 — 



uj o 

 u 



bJ 



a. 



15 20 25 30 35 



CARBON ATOMS / MOLECULE 



40 



Figure 6. -Residual paraffin patterns for mussels exposed to a 

 No. 2 fuel oil: 14 and 35 days after removal. 



The mussels rapidly took up a wide range of 

 petroleum paraffin hydrocarbons. Lee, 

 Sauerheber, and Benson (1972) had found this to 

 be the case for mussels where [^O] heptadecane 

 was detected within 15 min. The level of 

 hydrocarbons we found in our mussels exposed to 

 No. 2 fuel oil represents less than maximum up- 

 take because after exposure they were held 24 h in 

 clean seawater before sampling. The No. 5 fuel oil 

 specimens were collected immediately after their 

 32-h exposure to the oil, and extreme care was 

 exercised to avoid contaminating the tissue with 

 any oil adhering to the outside of the shell when 

 shucking prior to extraction. 



Griffith (1970) suggests that the attachment of 

 the byssal threads by the mussel could be affected 

 by the exposure to petroleum. The byssal attach- 

 ment is made by means of a grooved foot, which is 

 extended from the shell and placed in contact with 

 the substratum. Glandular secretions of collagen 

 mixed with phenolic protein run from the foot 

 groove, become attached to the substratum, and 

 during withdrawal of the foot undergo tanning by 

 the action of polyphenoloxidase (Pujol 1967). It is 



No. 2 Fuel oil (48-h exposure ) 



Surfoce slick 



1 Subsurface 

 No. 5 Fuel oil (32-h exposure) 



A Surfoce slick 



10 15 20 25 



DAYS AFTER REMOVAL 



30 



35 



Figure 7.-w-Paraffin hydrocarbon uptake and loss of fuel oil by 



mussels. 



not certain whether the oil upsets this chemical 

 process or inhibits the muscular actions of the foot 

 necessary to anchor the byssal thread. 



When other mollusks such as the American 

 oyster, Crassostrea virginica, were exposed to an 



— O 79-H AGED NO. 5 FUEL OIL 



--X EXPOSED TO SURFACE SLICK 

 IMMEDIATELY AFTER REMOVAL 



EXPOSED TO SURFACE SLICK 

 7 DAYS AFTER REMOVAL 



>, O 



Q 



a. a. 



Q. Q. 



UJ o 

 o 



UJ 



a. 



15 20 25 30 35 



CARBON ATOMS / MOLECULE 



40 



Figure 8.-Residual paraffin patterns for mussels exposed to a 

 No. 5 fuel oil. 



512 



