Health and Reproductive Implications of Exposure of Pacific Herring ('Clupeapallasi') Adults and Eggs to Weathered Crude Oil, and Reproductive Condition of Herring Stock in Prince William Sound Six Years After the EXXON VALDEZ Oil Spill. Restoration Proje

摘要

Herring spawned in Prince William Sound a few weeks after the Exxon Valdez oilspill; all life stages were potentially exposed. Reproductive condition of herring in Prince William Sound was assessed in 1995; adult herring and eggs were also experimentally exposed to oil. In laboratory tests, pre-spawn herring were negatively impacted by exposure to oil, principally by suppression of the immune system and increased expression of disease. Induction of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase, suppression of leukocytes, increased prevalence of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus, and mortality were correlated with polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon concentration. However, exposure of adult herring caused negligible damage in progeny at high concentrations (58 ppb aqueous polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon). Most larvae with genetic defects would likely die due to concomitant morphological abnormalities. There was no evidence of oil-related reproductive impairment in Prince William Sound herring six years after the spill.