Biological Effects Program 



The purpose of this program is to investigate the effects 

 of pollutants on marine organisms and ecological communities. 

 Both laboratory and field experiments are included. Laboratory 

 work is concerned mainly with effects of pollutants on single 

 classes of organisms. Field studies are integrated into the Con- 

 trolled Ecosystem Pollution Experiment (CEPEX). This co- 

 operative research project of international scope involves trap- 

 ping water and natural communities in large plastic enclosures 

 (10 m diameter by 30 m deep) and assessing the effects of 

 added pollutants on marine ecosystems — the long-term effects 

 influencing the stability of marine populations. The initial 

 CEPEX enclosures are located in Saanich Inlet, Vancouver 

 Island, British Columbia. Projects relating to the Biological 

 Effects Program and CEPEX are listed in tables 4 and 5, 

 respectively. 



In 1973, laboratory studies were started to evaluate the 

 sublethal, low-level effects of trace metals, petroleum, and 

 chlorinated hydrocarbons on the behavior and biochemical 

 processes of individual classes of organisms. Bacteria, phyto- 

 plankton, zooplankton, and higher marine organisms were main- 

 tained in laboratories for this purpose. 



Several pollutants were acutely toxic to these organisms in 

 the parts-per-million (ppm) range. Generally, heavy metals, 

 such as mercury, and chlorinated hydrocarbons (such as PCB- 

 Aroclor 1254) were found to be more toxic than petroleum 

 hydrocarbons to most species tested. Larvae were more sensitive 

 to pollutants than adults of the same species. Crude oils from 

 Kuwait and Louisiana and number 2 fuel oil were found to 



be toxic to microalgae at concentrations of 15 to 150 ppb, as 

 were their water-soluble extracts. These acute toxicity studies 

 were conducted to determine the relative sensitivity of various 

 organisms to each of the major classes of pollutants and to 

 establish the concentration range for subsequent sublethal 

 studies. 



General implications resulting from the CEPEX project 

 indicate that all the pollutants introduced to the experimental 

 containers show similar first effects on the organisms present. 

 Specifically, the effects of metals and petroleum on bacteria 

 are transient and short-term owing to the population's rapid 

 adaption (within days) to imposed stress. Phytoplankton also 

 adapt to stress quickly (less than 15 days). In mixed popula- 

 tions of bacteria and phytoplankton, measures of standing crop 

 (chlorophyll, ATP, carbon) and rate functions (carbon- 14 

 and nutrient uptake kinetics, etc.) provide little information 

 on the effects of pollutants at the ecosystem level. 



Some physiological measurements (respiration, excretion 

 rates) show little relation to pollution stress in zooplankton. 

 Other indices of metabolic well-being (egg production, feeding 

 rate) are sensitive indicators of stress at sublethal levels. In 

 general, small zooplankton. regardless of species, are more 

 sensitive than larger organisms (excepting jellyfish). The con- 

 sequences of pollution on higher trophic levels, for the most 

 part, remains unsolved. 



Initial experiments were carried out in 1973 using V^ -scale 

 cylindrical enclosures (2.44 by 15.85 m) to test the engi- 

 neering feasibility and scientific soundness of the approach. 

 Test results were encouraging, and in 1974 a full-scale model 

 (10.06 by 29.26 m) was deployed for engineering field tests 



Table 4.— U.S. institutions, investigators, and projects in Biological Effects Program 



Organization 



Investigator 



Project title 



University of Alaska 



University of California, 



Scripps Institution of Oceanography 



Florida State University 



University of Georgia, 



Skidaway Institute of Oceanography 



Texas A&M University 



D. K, Button Reichardt 



T. J. Chow 



University of Texas, 

 Marine Science Institute 



J. A. Calder 



R. F. Lee 

 J. M. Neff 



C. S. Giam 

 W. M. Sackett 



J. A. C. Nichol 

 C. Van Baalen 



Lability of Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Their Non- 

 lethal Effects on Marine Organisms 



Assimilation of Lead, Cadmium, and Thallium by 

 Marine Organisms With Consideration to Biological 

 Effects 



Investigations of Breakdown and Sublethal Biological 

 Effects in Trace Petroleum Constituents in the Marine 

 Environment 



Fate of Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Marine Food Web 



Sublethal Effects of Selected Heavy Metals and 

 Organic Compounds on Organisms From the Gulf of 

 Mexico 



Biological Effect of Phthalates and Chlorinated 

 Hydrocarbons in Biota From the Gulf of Mexico 

 Fate and Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Petro- 

 leum-Derived Organic Compounds in the Ocean, and 

 Their Sublethal Effects on Marine Organisms 



Marine Petroleum Pollution: Biological Effects and 

 Chemical Characterization 



