A review of the toxicology of oil in vertebrates : what we have learned following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Abstract
In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, a number of government agencies, academic institutions, consultants, and nonprofit organizations conducted lab- and field-based research to understand the toxic effects of the oil. Lab testing was performed with a variety of fish, birds, turtles, and vertebrate cell lines (as well as invertebrates); field biologists conducted observations on fish, birds, turtles, and marine mammals; and epidemiologists carried out observational studies in humans. Eight years after the spill, scientists and resource managers held a workshop to summarize the similarities and differences in the effects of DWH oil on vertebrate taxa and to identify remaining gaps in our understanding of oil toxicity in wildlife and humans, building upon the cross-taxonomic synthesis initiated during the Natural Resource Damage Assessment. Across the studies, consistency was found in the types of toxic response observed in the different organisms. Impairment of stress responses and adrenal gland function, cardiotoxicity, immune system dysfunction, disruption of blood cells and their function, effects on locomotion, and oxidative damage were observed across taxa. This consistency suggests conservation in the mechanisms of action and disease pathogenesis. From a toxicological perspective, a logical progression of impacts was noted: from molecular and cellular effects that manifest as organ dysfunction, to systemic effects that compromise fitness, growth, reproductive potential, and survival. From a clinical perspective, adverse health effects from DWH oil spill exposure formed a suite of signs/symptomatic responses that at the highest doses/concentrations resulted in multi-organ system failure.
Citation
Takeshita , R , Bursian , S J , Colegrove , K M , Collier , T K , Deak , K , Dean , K M , De Guise , S , DiPinto , L M , Elferink , C J , Esbaugh , A J , Griffitt , R J , Grosell , M , Harr , K E , Incardona , J P , Kwok , R K , Lipton , J , Mitchelmore , C L , Morris , J M , Peters , E S , Roberts , A P , Rowles , T K , Rusiecki , J A , Schwacke , L H , Smith , C R , Wetzel , D L , Ziccardi , M H & Hall , A J 2021 , ' A review of the toxicology of oil in vertebrates : what we have learned following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill ' , Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. Part B, Critical Reviews , vol. 24 , no. 8 , pp. 355-394 . https://doi.org/10.1080/10937404.2021.1975182
Publication
Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. Part B, Critical Reviews
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1093-7404Type
Journal item
Rights
Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.
Description
This research was made possible by a grant from The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. This publication is UMCES contribution No. 6045 and Ref. No. [UMCES] CBL 2022-008. This is National Marine Mammal Foundation Contribution #314 to peer-reviewed scientific literature.Collections
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