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analyse the impact of oil spill on birds

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International Journal of Hydrogen Energy

Volume 41, Issue 37, 5 October 2016, Pages 16549-16555

Impacts of oil spills on seabirds: Unsustainable impacts of non-renewable energy

Author links open overlay panelG.TroisiaS.Bextonc

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2016.04.011Get rights and content

Under a Creative Commons license

open access

Highlights

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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are chemical constituents of petroleum oils. Oil spills are a regular occurrence in the marine environment leading to significant oiling of wildlife and exposure to the toxic PAHs.

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The paper describes endocrine disruption related to PAH exposure which can serve to exacerbate mortality from oil spills and compromise ability of surviving birds to recover.

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The findings contributes to the growing body of evidence that oil pollution causes unsustainable impacts on wildlife.

Abstract

Accidental spillage of oil in to the sea from shipping transport and drilling rigs results in spills that cause significant unsustainable mortality of wildlife and destroys marine ecosystem services. External oiling of seabirds causes large scale mortality within days following a spill, while survivors suffercauses long term chronic effects from the exposure to toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in ingested oil. Survival rates for rehabilitated oiled birds are very low despite investment of significant resources. PAHs disturb thyroid homeostasis which plays a vital role in the control of energy metabolism. In this study, plasma PAH and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) were quantified as biomarkers of exposure and endocrine disruption in oiled guillemots (Uria aalge). Mean plasma PAH and TSH concentrations, were 98.1 ± 8.3 ng/ml and 0.13 ± 0.02 ng/ml and these parameters were found to be negatively correlated (p < 0.01) indicative of PAH-associated thyroid hormone suppression in more heavily oiled birds. Body condition and weight were also lower in birds that died compared with birds that were released. The data also show the value of measuring plasma TSH and PAH to monitor metabolic status and progress of decontamination of oiled birds in a rehabilitation setting.

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