Program Accomplishments 



The biological effects research program was undertaken with the 

 knowledge that the concentrations of chemical pollutants (petroleum, 

 trace metals and chlorinated hydrocarbons) in coastal seas, and in 

 some cases the open sea, are high enough to be readily detected. (Base- 

 line Studies, 1972; Pollutant Transfer. 1974; Marine Pollution Moni- 

 toring, 1972). This knowledge lent urgency to the question of poten- 

 tial biological damage by these levels of pollutants. Although at first 

 this may seem to be a completely biological problem it is in fact more 

 complex. All the investigators have followed three guidelines in their 

 studies: (1) a strong analytical chemistry component was present to 

 insure that the concentration and chemical identity of the pollutants 

 being studied were measured; (2) the levels of pollutants used in bio- 

 logical effects experiments were those known to occur in the marine 

 environment or to be potentially obtainable; (3) the investigators 

 made a sustained effort to develop measures of biological effect other 

 than the lethal dose. This work was made difficult by the fact that 

 many of the more significant marine organisms were not generally 

 in laboratory culture. A good deal of work during these two years has 

 gone into learning to rear organisms and to develop appropriate non- 

 lethal parameters of biological effects. 



The investigators focused much of their effort on petroleum, par- 

 tially because the CEPEX investigators are focusing their effort on 

 heavy metals. In order to insure that experiments could be compared 

 the investigators generally used identical petroleum samples. The 

 American Petroleum Institute standard oils were obtained by the 

 Texas A&M group and made available to all Program Participants. 



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