scholarly journals Newly Hatched Stage I American Lobster (Homarus americanus) Survival Following Exposure to Physically and Chemically Dispersed Crude Oil

Author(s):  
Benjamin de Jourdan ◽  
Tahereh Boloori ◽  
Les Burridge

Abstract Standard model species are commonly used in toxicity tests due to their biological and technical advantages but studying native species increases the specificity and relevance of results generated for the potential risk assessment to an ecosystem. Accounting for intraspecies variability and other factors, such as chemical and physical characterization of test medium, is necessary to develop a reproducible bioassay for toxicity testing with native species. In this study, larval stage I American lobster (Homarus americanus) was selected as the test species, which is native to Atlantic Canada. Toxicity tests were first conducted exposing lobster larvae to a reference toxicant of copper sulfate (CuSO4) and then to physically and chemically dispersed oil. The effect on larval survival was estimated by calculating the median effect concentration (EC50) as 2.54-9.73 mg TPH/L when all trials are considered together. The HC5 or PNEC value was 2.52 mg TPH/L and therefore a narrow difference from the EC50 value. The inter-trial variability (coefficient of variability = 17%) was lower than the US Environmental Protection Agency standard test species of mysid shrimp (Americamysis bahia) and inland silversides (Menidia bervillina). Our results indicate that the described larval lobster bioassay is reliable to produce repeatable results for this commercially important and native species of Atlantic Canada.

2016 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 1210-1219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesica D. Waller ◽  
Richard A. Wahle ◽  
Halley McVeigh ◽  
David M. Fields

Few studies have evaluated the joint effects of elevated temperature and pCO2 on marine organisms. In this study we investigated the interactive effects of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted temperature and pCO2 for the end of the 21st century on key aspects of larval development of the American lobster, Homarus americanus, an otherwise well-studied, iconic, and commercially prominent species in the northeastern United States and Atlantic Canada. Our experiments showed that larvae (stages I–III) and postlarvae (stage IV) reared in the high temperature treatments (19 °C) experienced significantly lower survival, developed twice as fast, and had significantly higher oxygen consumption rates, than those in ambient treatments (16 °C). Larvae from the ambient temperature/high pCO2 (750 ppm) treatment had significantly longer carapace lengths, greater dry masses in stages I–III and higher C: N ratios in stage IV than larvae from all other treatments. Stage IVs raised in the high pCO2 treatment at 19 °C had significantly higher feeding rates and swimming speeds than stage IVs from the other three treatments. Together these results suggest that projected end-century warming will have greater adverse effects than increased pCO2 on larval survival, and changing pCO2 may have a complex effect on larval metabolism and behaviour. Understanding how the most vulnerable life stages of the lobster life cycle respond to climate change is essential in connecting the northward geographic shifts projected by habitat quality models, and the underlying physiological and genetic mechanisms that drive their ecology.


1976 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 1108-1119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis Hedgecock ◽  
Robert A. Shleser ◽  
Keith Nelson

American lobster (Homarus americanus) catches are diminishing. More than 90% of the annual catch is 2.2-kg (1-lb) minimum legal size. Females of this size may have produced 10,000 eggs prior to catch, but, with an estimated larval survival of 1/100,000, 10 females are required to reproduce 1 female. The prognosis for the lobster fishery appears poor.Laboratory culture of larval lobsters can achieve more than 60% survival at a cost of about 2¢ per postlarval juvenile. The effectiveness of restocking has never been evaluated.Starch-gel electrophoresis reveals protein differences among individual lobsters: progeny studies confirm Mendelian inheritance of allozymes encoded by five independent genes, Est-2, Idh, Pgi-3, Pgi-4, and Pgm-1. Genetic markers may be determined by biochemical analysis of pereiopod tissue, without killing. Allozyme frequencies have been measured in natural populations (e.g. Pgm-1103 is absent in lobsters from Martha’s Vineyard (MVS), but occurs elsewhere in frequencies of 0.C2). Larvae with rare allozyme genotypes (e.g. Pgm-1100/103 or Pgm-1103/103 at MVS) may be obtained from selected females or produced by appropriate matings. These may be released, and their survival at selected times after release monitored by leg sampling from lobsters of the appropriate age-class. This technique is being used to select diverse parental stocks and produce progeny which may show hybrid vigor. These stocks will be used in developing lobster farming.


2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (10) ◽  
pp. 1503-1506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vidar Øresland ◽  
Mats Ulmestrand ◽  
Ann-Lisbeth Agnalt ◽  
Gert Oxby

The intentional or unintentional release of American lobsters (Homarus americanus), imported through the European seafood trade, has resulted in findings of H. americanus in European waters. A total of 36 specimens was recorded within a smaller area, halfway along the Swedish west coast, between 2008 and 2016. The lobsters were caught by both recreational and professional fishermen and delivered to the Institute of Marine Research in Lysekil, where species identification, measurements, and genetic sampling were performed. Twenty-five of these lobsters were caught inside the sill of the Gullmar Fjord, most of them close to Lysekil harbor, where escapes from an illegal holding is suspected. Six females had eggs, which in two cases were hybrids. While there is no evidence to suggest that a population has been established in the Gullmar Fjord or elsewhere in Swedish waters, serious concerns must be raised regarding the possible consequences for the native species. An American lobster has for the first time been filmed eating a killed European lobster (Homarus gammarus) in Swedish waters.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Glaberman ◽  
Jean Kiwiet ◽  
Catherine Aubee

ABSTRACTEcological risk of chemicals to aquatic-phase amphibians has historically been evaluated by comparing estimated environmental concentrations in surface water to surrogate toxicity data from standard fish species. Despite their obvious similarities, there are biological disparities among fish and amphibians that could affect their exposure and response to chemicals. Given the alarming decline in amphibians in which anthropogenic pollutants play at least some role, evaluating the potential risk of chemicals to amphibians is becoming increasingly important. Here, we evaluate relative sensitivity of fish and larval aquatic-phase amphibians to 45 different pesticides using existing data for three standardized toxicity tests: (1) amphibian metamorphosis assay (AMA) with the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis); (2) fish short-term reproductive assay (FSTRA) with freshwater fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas); (3) fish early life stage test with P. promelas or rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). The advantage of this dataset over previous work is that these studies show high consistency in exposure method and exposure concentration validation, study duration, test species, endpoints measured, and number of concentrations tested. We found very strong positive relationships between fish and tadpole lowest adverse effect concentrations (LOAEC) for survival (r2=0.85, slope=0.97), body weight (r2=0.77, slope=0.98), and length (r2=0.77, slope=0.92) with only one out of 45 chemicals exhibiting 100-folder greater sensitivity in frogs relative to fish. While these results suggest comparable toxicity for pesticides between these two groups of vertebrates, testing with a greater diversity of amphibians will help determine the generalizability of these results across all amphibians.DISCLAIMERThe views expressed in this manuscript are solely those of the authors and do not represent the policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Mention of trade names of commercial products should not be interpreted as an endorsement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.


2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 511-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark C. Rigby ◽  
A. Dennis Lemly ◽  
Russ Gerads

The US Environmental Protection Agency and several U.S. states and Canadian provinces are currently developing national water quality criteria for selenium that are based in part on toxicity tests performed by feeding freshwater fish a selenomethionine-spiked diet which may lead to a biased assessment of selenium toxicity under field conditions.


2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 577-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Smolowitz ◽  
R A Quinn ◽  
R J Cawthorn ◽  
R L Summerfield ◽  
A Y Chistoserdov

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