Relationship of scarlet prawns ( Plesiopenaeus edwardsianus) to a benthic oil deposit off the north-west coast of Aruba, Dutch West Indies

Abstract

Catch data resulting from sampling efforts off the north-west coast of Aruba, Dutch West Indies, demonstrated a greater catch rate of crustacea in areas where benthic oily material was collected as compared to adjacent areas where there was no oil. Scarlet prawns ( Plesiopenaeus edwardsianus) were there times more abundant in the areas where benthic oil was found. They contained no isoprenoid hydrocarbons of the type common to most biological material or the type common to petroleum. However, they did contain an unusual n-paraffin hydrocarbon series (n-C 22, n-C 25, n-C 28, n-C 31, n-C 34), and in the areas where the benthic oily material was collected the prawns contained much greater quantities of the five n-paraffins given in the above sequence. A probable explanation for the greater abundance of crustacea in the area affected by the oily material is discussed. The accumulation and metabolism of hydrocarbons by marine organisms and how these processes relate to scarlet prawns are also discussed.