Effects of oil and chemically dispersed oil on shrimp (Pandalus borelalis) larvae
The overall aim is to perform short-term experiments with shrimp larvae exposed to oil with and without oil dispersant to provide toxicity data to a Net Environmental Benefits Analysis (NEBA).
Main objective: Investigate if chemical dispersants used to mitigate the effects of oil spill will cause increased toxicity of oil to shrimp larvae (Pandalus borealis).
When there is an oil spill the authorities, NOFO and the O&G industry is concerned about negative effects on birds, sea mammals and early life stages of important species (e.g. fish and shrimp). One spill response action is the use of dispersant to aid oil cleaning from the sea but there is insufficient knowledge of the consequences of dispersant addition onto marine species, specially the larval stages. Shrimp larvae (Pandalus borealis) are very relevant because they are distributed both offshore and along the entire Norwegian coastline and up to Svalbard (in the North Atlantic and in the Barents Sea). P. borealis is a key species in the ecosystem and an economically (and culturally) important species. IRIS has long experience with using this species in the laboratory.
In total 540 shrimp larvae (stage 2, ca 2 weeks old) will be used in the experiments and approximately 30 shrimp females with eggs will be collected and used to produce the larvae. There are currently no effective replacement methods available to avoid the use of shrimp in this project. The minimum number of shrimp required to achieve acceptable statistical strength will be used. Surviving non-exposed adult shrimp will be returned to the fjord at the end of the experimental procedures.
Main objective: Investigate if chemical dispersants used to mitigate the effects of oil spill will cause increased toxicity of oil to shrimp larvae (Pandalus borealis).
When there is an oil spill the authorities, NOFO and the O&G industry is concerned about negative effects on birds, sea mammals and early life stages of important species (e.g. fish and shrimp). One spill response action is the use of dispersant to aid oil cleaning from the sea but there is insufficient knowledge of the consequences of dispersant addition onto marine species, specially the larval stages. Shrimp larvae (Pandalus borealis) are very relevant because they are distributed both offshore and along the entire Norwegian coastline and up to Svalbard (in the North Atlantic and in the Barents Sea). P. borealis is a key species in the ecosystem and an economically (and culturally) important species. IRIS has long experience with using this species in the laboratory.
In total 540 shrimp larvae (stage 2, ca 2 weeks old) will be used in the experiments and approximately 30 shrimp females with eggs will be collected and used to produce the larvae. There are currently no effective replacement methods available to avoid the use of shrimp in this project. The minimum number of shrimp required to achieve acceptable statistical strength will be used. Surviving non-exposed adult shrimp will be returned to the fjord at the end of the experimental procedures.