Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons in American Oysters Crassostrea virginica from the Terminos Lagoon, Campeche, Mexico

doi:10.1016/S0025-326X(98)00165-9

Marine Pollution Bulletin

Volume 38, Issue 8, August 1999, Pages 637-645

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0025-326X(98)00165-9 Get rights and content

Abstract

The concentrations of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in oyster tissues from one of the most productive shrimp-fishing and oyster-farming areas in the coastal Gulf of Mexico, the Terminos Lagoon, were measured to assess the impact that offshore crude oil production on the continental shelf of Campeche might have on local resources. Total PAH concentrations in oyster tissues ranged from 2470 to 42,500 ng/g during this six-month study. The predominance of low and medium molecular weight alkylated compounds over their parent compounds indicates the petrogenic source of these PAHs. The apparent correlation between the geographical distributions of the measured PAH concentrations and the distinctive circulation pattern into and inside the lagoon suggests that offshore oil activities are the source of these PAHs to local oysters. Although comparable, the concentrations reported in this study are on the high side of those reported earlier in samples from the same general area and from the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. This should be a cause for concern in a protected area where oysters are farmed for human consumption and should result in the implementation of monitoring programs.

Section snippets

Study area

The Terminos Lagoon is located in the State of Campeche, 18^o20^′–19^o00^′ N and 91^o10^′–92^o00^′ W (Fig. 1). It is approximately 70 km long and 30 km wide, with a mean depth of 3.5 m and a surface area of 170,000 ha. Two permanent inlets connect the lagoon with the Gulf of Mexico: Puerto Real and Carmen (Yáñez-Arancibia and Day, 1988). Terminos lagoon is influenced by the Candelaria-Panlau (Mamantel and Candelaria Rivers), the Chumpan-Balchacah (Salsipuedes and San Joaquin Rivers), and the

Results and Discussion

Data in Table 1 show the geographical and temporal distributions of PAH concentrations in the Terminos Lagoon. Total concentrations of PAHs ranged from 2470 to 42,500 ng/g dry wt. during the study. Comparatively, the sum of the same suite of PAHs measured by the NOAA NS&T Program, mostly non-alkylated compounds, ranged from 785 to 3220 ng/g dry wt (Table 1). The clear predominance of low and medium molecular weight alkylated compounds (i.e., alkylated naphthalenes, fluorenes, phenanthrenes and

Acknowledgements

We express our gratitude to Mr. Javier del Valle, CET-Mar Ciudad del Carmen, for help during the sampling activities, and to Dr. Javier Alcalá-Herrera, Geochemical and Environmental Group, for the analysis of the two Mexican oil samples.

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In this same experiment, the actual levels of total PAH in oysters exposed for 24 h were 21.5 μg.g−1 wet weight, while in the control group they were 0.08 μg.g−1 wet weight (unpublished data). This increase reflects the ability of animals to bioconcentrate petrogenic hydrocarbons as observed in other oyster species (Noreña-Barroso et al., 1999; Sanders, 1995; Bado-Nilles et al., 2010). Aiming to identify possible toxic effects associated with this bioconcentration, in the present study we identified proteins present in the microsomal fraction of C. brasiliana gill exposed for 24 and 72 h to 10% diesel-WAF.
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The contamination of PAHs has been widely reported in oyster samples from different locations around world, either on body wet weight (ww) and dry weight (dw) basis (Table SI-5). Total PAHs concentrations in oyster ranges from several to several thousands ng/g ww (or ng/g dw) in coastal area from America (Noreña-Barroso et al., 1999; Jaffé et al., 2003), Japan (Nakata et al., 2014), France (Kumar et al., 2008), Caribbean (Ramdine et al., 2012) and so on. Compared to the former studies, the oyster concentrations of PAHs in our study were in line with them.
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O. equestris will replace the more common Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, in locations when salinity reaches 30 ppt (Parker, 1960). While quite a few studies have examined the impacts of oil and PAH exposure (Fucik et al., 1995; Noreña-Barroso et al., 1999; Liu et al., 2006) as well as bioaccumulation of PAHs (Wade et al., 1988; Sericano et al., 1996; Qian et al., 2001) in C. virginica, we are not aware of any studies conducted on O. equestris. T. coccinea, a non-indigenous species to the Gulf of Mexico, primarily appears on artificial substrates such as submerged steel wrecks and oil rig support structures (Fenner and Banks, 2004; Sammarco et al., 2004; Ferry, 2009).
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ReportsPolynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons in American Oysters Crassostrea virginica from the Terminos Lagoon, Campeche, Mexico

Abstract

Section snippets

Study area

Results and Discussion

Acknowledgements

Reports
Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons in American Oysters Crassostrea virginica from the Terminos Lagoon, Campeche, Mexico