A comparison of hydrocarbons in animals and their benthic habitats
Teal, J.M.; Farrington, J.W. (1977). A comparison of hydrocarbons in animals and their benthic habitats. Rapp. et Proc.-Verb. Cons. Int. Explor. Mer 171: 79-83
In: Rapports et Procès-Verbaux des Réunions du Conseil Permanent International pour l'Exploration de la Mer. Conseil Permanent International pour l'Exploration de la Mer: Copenhague. ISSN 0074-4336
Also appears in:
McIntyre, A.D.; Whittle, K.J. (Ed.) (1977). Petroleum Hydrocarbons in the Marine Environment: Proceedings from ICES Workshop held in Aberdeen 9-12 September 1975. Rapports et Procès-Verbaux des Réunions du Conseil Permanent International pour l'Exploration de la Mer, 171. Conseil International pour l'Exploration de la Mer: Copenhagen. 7-230 pp., more
Studies in several estuarine and marsh areas have shown significant differences between the composition of petroleum hydrocarbons in benthic animals and their habitat. When subjected to an oil spill some animals take up a mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons with a composition similar to that of the spilled oil found in the substratum. Others develop the ability to metabolize or otherwise modify their hydrocarbon content possibly by selective uptake such that it approaches the pre-spill conditions. When sediments are pulsed with petroleum hydrocarbons from an oil spill, degradation occurs at rates which are significantly different for different classes of compounds. Some classes persist for more than five years in significantly elevated concentrations. In contrast, biogenic hydrocarons in relatively upolluted sediments seem to be subjected to little degradation over 10 to 50 year periods after deposition.
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