NMR-based characterization of the acute metabolic effects of weathered crude and dispersed oil in spawning topsmelt and their embryos.

Oil spill responders require information on the relative toxicity of dispersed and un-dispersed oil in order to make informed decisions regarding the use of chemical dispersants during spill events. Toxicity of the water-accommodated fraction (WAF) and the chemically-enhanced WAF (CEWAF; via the dispersant Corexit 9500) of weathered Prudhoe Bay crude oil was investigated using adult and embryonic topsmelt; topsmelt are an ecologically important atherinid in California bays and estuaries and an important indicator species. Following 96-h exposures, metabolite profiles were measured using 1D (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and compared via principal component analysis.

Metabolic responses produced by crude versus dispersed oil in Chinook salmon pre-smolts via NMR-based metabolomics.

Crude oil spills from tankers remain a serious threat along coastal California. Resource managers require information on the acute toxicity of treated and untreated oil, and their sublethal effects on wildlife. This investigation compared the toxic actions of the water-accommodated fraction (WAF) and the chemically-enhanced WAF (CEWAF; Corexit 9500) of Prudhoe Bay crude oil in pre-smolt Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) via nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics.

Characterization of the metabolic actions of crude versus dispersed oil in salmon smolts via NMR-based metabolomics.

With maritime transport of crude oil from Alaska to California, there is significant potential for a catastrophic spill which could impact migrating salmon. Therefore, this study compared the lethal and sublethal metabolic actions of the water-accommodated fraction (WAF) and the chemically enhanced WAF (CEWAF, via Corexit 9500) of Prudhoe Bay crude oil in smolts of Chinook salmon (Onchorhyncus tshawytscha). After 96-h exposure to the CEWAF, the resulting LC50 was some 20 times higher (i.