Aqueous extracts of No. 2 fuel oil retarded or arrested 

 development of barnacle eggs at 3 ppm, while acute experi- 

 ments with sea urchin gametes, embryos, and larvae, as well 

 as larvae of several crab species showed that a concentration 

 of 0.6 ppm was deleterious to development and survival. Of 

 the oils tested (aqueous extracts). Bunker C and No. 2 fuel 

 oil were more toxic than Alaska and Southern Louisiana Crude. 



Results from studies of the uptake of radio-labeled hydro- 

 carbons added to food or water of blue crabs (Callinectes 

 sapidus) indicate that the metabolism and discharge of hexade- 

 cane, naphthalene, and methylnaphthalene were more rapid 

 than that of fluorene, benz(a)pyrene, and methylcholanthrene. 

 Uptake from both food and water resulted in most of the radio- 

 activity eventually building up in the hepatopancreas with only 

 minor amounts of hydrocarbons in gonad or muscle tissue. 



Copper concentration of 500 ppb for 130 days were 

 acutely toxic to both megalops and juvenile stages of Callinec- 

 tes similis. Chronic toxicity was detected at 250 ppb. Crab 

 mortalities caused by exposure to lethal concentrations of cop- 

 per usually occurred during or immediately after molt. 



Three new research projects were started this year to 

 focus more specifically on biological indicators that could be 

 used to detect pollutant-induced perturbations in the ocean. 

 One will investigate the ability of low levels of petroleum 

 hydrocarbons to induce mixed function oxidaces in fish species 

 from three different environments. Another will use light 

 microscopes and an electron microscope to determine the con- 

 dition of respiratory, digestive, and reproductive tissue in ma- 

 rine organisms that have been exposed to petroleum hydro- 

 carbons. The incidence of infection and tumor formation will 

 be measured and compared with physiological parameters 

 being measured by others doing comparable experiments. In- 

 vestigators will attempt to quantify the effects of chemical 

 gradients (copper ions and PCB's) and water flow rates on the 

 locomotor and orientation behavior of certain fishes. 



A Biological Effects workshop was held in May 1976 at 

 Texas A&M University. The proceedings for this meeting are 

 currently in press. In October 1976, a workshop. Anoxia On 

 the Middle Atlantic Shelf During the Summer of 1976, was 

 held in Washington, D.C. This report is available from the 

 Office for the IDOE, NSF, Wash., D.C. 20550. 



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



Institutions 



Investigators 



Projects 



University of Alaska 



University of California, 



Scripps Institution of Oceanography 



University of Delaware 

 Florida State University 



University of Georgia, 



Skidaway Institute of Oceanography 



Texas A&M University 



University of Texas, 

 Marine Science Institute 



Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 



P. B. Reichardtand 

 D. K. Button 



G. N. Somero and 

 T. J. Chow 



M. R. Tripp 

 J. A. Calder 



R. F. Lee 

 J. M. Neff 



C. S. Giam 

 W. M. Sackett 



H. Kleerekoper 



J. A. C. Nichol and 

 C. Van Baalen 



J. J. Stegeman 



Lability of Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Their Non- 

 lethal Effects on Marine Organisms 



The Effects of Lead and Cadmium on Selected De- 

 velopmental, Physiological and Biochemical Proc- 

 esses in Marine Animals 



Histopathology of Benthic Invertebrates 



Investigations of Breakdown and Sublethal Biologi- 

 cal 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 Hy- 

 drocarbons in Biota from the Gulf of Mexico 



Fate, Spatial, and Temporal Distribution of Petro- 

 leum-Derived Organic Compounds in the Ocean, 

 and their Sublethal Effects on Marine Organisms 



Subacute Effects of PCB's and Copper Ions in Loco- 

 motor and Orientation Behavior in Certain Marine 

 Fishes 



Marine Petroleum Pollution: Biological Effects and 

 Chemical Characterization 



Xenobiotic (Hydrocarbon) Metabolism by Mixed 

 Function Oxidases in Estuarine, Coastal, and Open 

 Ocean Fish Species 



