Dilute concentrations of maritime fuel can modify sediment reworking activity of high-latitude marine invertebrates.

Multiple expressions of climate change, in particular warming-induced reductions in the type, extent and thickness of sea ice, are opening access and providing new viable development opportunities in high-latitude regions. Coastal margins are facing these challenges, but the vulnerability of species and ecosystems to the effects of fuel contamination associated with increased maritime traffic is largely unknown. Here, we show that low concentrations of the water-accommodated fraction of marine fuel oil, representative of a dilute fuel oil spill, can alter functionally important aspects of the behaviour of sediment-dwelling invertebrates.

Computed tomography reconstructions of burrow networks for the Opheliid polychaete, Armandia cirrhosa.

The morphology and architecture of structures formed by sediment-dwelling invertebrates, such as excavations or burrows, are often assumed to be characteristic of a given species, consistent across a range of environmental conditions, and used to categorise species contributions to ecosystem functioning. However, very few investigations use non-invasive high-resolution techniques capable of determining fine scale variations in burrow form and complexity, or consider whether or not the form of the burrow is context dependent. Here, we provide replicate high-resolution micro-focus computed tomography data for the complete burrow systems of the Opheliid polychaete, Armandia cirrhosa, across a range of salinity and habitat conditions.