Early Life History of Pacific Herring: 1989 Prince William Sound Herring Egg Incubation Experiment

摘要

In March, 1989, oil spilled from the tanker Exxon Valdez washed onto Pacific herring, Clupea pallasi harengus, spawning beaches in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The purpose of the study was to measure the viable hatch of herring eggs spawned on oiled and non-oiled beaches of the Sound. Over 180 samples of live eggs were taken from five control transects outside of the contaminated area and 18 transects within the contaminated area and incubated to hatch. Only a weak relationship between oil exposure and effects on the biology of herring embryos was apparent.