Effects of lubricant oil and diesel on macrofaunal communities in marine sediments: A five year field experiment in Antarctica*

Hydrocarbons pose significant risks to marine ecosystems. A field experiment investigated the effects of four different hydrocarbon products (diesel fuel and three lubricating oils: Unused, Used and Biodegradable) on sediment macrofaunal communities over a five year period, in a shallow Antarctic marine embayment. Sediments were defaunated, treated with a hydrocarbon and deployed in trays (including a control) on the seabed. Diesel fuel had the biggest initial impact on communities, with strong effects at 5 weeks and 1 year, in particular on annelids, but also on amphipods, ostracods and cumaceans. By five years, however, the effect of diesel was less than that of lubrication oils and showed more recovery than oiled treatments and the biggest effect was from the Used oil. There was an effect of hydrocarbons on diversity, especially diesel, at 5 weeks and 1 year, but by 2 and 5 years diversity was not different or greater in hydrocarbon treatments than controls. Total abundance was always lower in hydrocarbon treatments than controls, especially for crustaceans, but annelids were more abundant in oil treatments than controls at 5 years. Oils, and in some cases diesel, enhanced the abundance of some taxa at 2-5 years, including molluscs, some polychaete families (capitellids, cirratulids, dorvilleids), oligochaetes, as well as ostracods, cumaceans and isopods. Amphipods and tanaids were most sensitive to hydrocarbons, and annelids were very sensitive to diesel. The Biodegradable oil had similar magnitude community effects to standard oil at 5 years, but annelids were more affected by Biodegradable oil, particularly at 1 and 2 years, and it did not enhance annelid or mollusc abundance at 5 years like the other oils, except for some polychaete families. Impacts of spilled hydrocarbons in Antarctica will persist well beyond 5 years, but diesel impacts will recover faster than oil.

Automated summary

Hydrocarbons have significant impacts on marine ecosystems, particularly on the diversity and abundance of sediment macrofaunal communities. Diesel fuel has the largest initial impact on communities, but its effects diminish over time, while lubrication oils have long-lasting effects. Different types of hydrocarbon products also have different effects on the response and recovery of benthic animals.