Simulating crude oil exposure, uptake and effects in North Atlantic Calanus finmarchicus populations

Ole Jacob Broch,Raymond Nepstad,Ingrid Ellingsen,Radovan Bast,Geir Morten Skeie,Jolynn Carroll

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.105184

Ole Jacob Broch, Raymond Nepstad + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.105184

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Abstract

A simulation model framework (SYMBIOSES) that includes a 3-dimensional ocean physics and biology model and a model for transport and fate of oil was used to investigate the potential for bioaccumulation and lethal/sublethal effects of oil components in the copepod Calanus finmarchicus in the Lofoten–Vesterålen archipelago of Norway. The oil model is coupled with the biology model by way of a bioaccumulation model, from which mortality and reduction in reproduction are calculated via a total body burden (TBB). The simulation results indicate that copepod body burden levels are affected by the spill type (surface spill, subsea blowout) and the spill timing (spring, autumn). The effects of oil component bioaccumulation on the copepod population for all scenarios are small, though greatest in the subsea blowout scenarios. We attribute this to the limited spatial and temporal overlap between copepods and oil in the environment simulated by the model. The coupling of the processes of oil transport, bioaccumulation/excretion and the associated effects are discussed in the context of the model framework and with a view towards applications for Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA).

Highlights

Copepods are a ubiquitous and integral part of marine ecosystems and food webs
This region is further of great importance for the entire production in the Arctic Ocean (AO) because a significant part of the primary and secondary production necessary to sustain the AO ecosystem is advected past Lofoten–Vesterålen archipelago (LoVe) and into the Barents Sea and AO (Wassmann et al, 2019; Vernet et al, 2019)
There is a clear indication of bioaccumulation of oil components, the present results indicate that a surface oil spill or a subsea blowout on the shelf may have a minor impact only due to limited vertical overlap between the dissolved oil components and the diapausing CV stage

Summary

Introduction

Copepods are a ubiquitous and integral part of marine ecosystems and food webs. In the North Atlantic, the zooplankton copepod Calanus finmarchicus is important both as a food source for higher trophic levels (Helaouët and Beaugrand, 2009) and as part of cycling and vertical transport of carbon in the ocean through seasonal vertical migration (Jónasdóttir et al, 2015). The Norwegian shelf region off the Lofoten–Vesterålen archipelago (LoVe) (Fig. 1, archipelago within the yellow box) is an important breeding ground for Northeast Arctic cod, whose larval stages depend on C. finmarchicus nauplii for food (Misund and Olsen, 2013). This region is further of great importance for the entire production in the Arctic Ocean (AO) because a significant part of the primary and secondary production necessary to sustain the AO ecosystem is advected past LoVe and into the Barents Sea and AO (Wassmann et al, 2019; Vernet et al, 2019)

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