Folks,
There is also a substantial (2229 words) report on the effects of the
grounded MV River Princess that has been accepted by Environment
International and is awaiting publication. The conclusion of the report is
that "the grounded ore carrier is not only detrimental to the beach
community, that may take longer time for recovery, but also affects the
beach morphology which may have long-term impact on local fishery."
Title: Ecotoxicological effect of grounded MV River Princess on the
intertidal benthic organisms off Goa
Source: Environment International, In Press as at 9 Oct. 2005.
doi:10.1016/j.envint.2005.08.025.
Contribution No. 4038 of NIO Goa.
By: B. Ingole, S. Sivadas, R. Goltekar, S. Clemente, M. Nanajkar, R. Sawant,
C. D'Silva, A. Sarkar and Z. Ansari.
Affiliation: National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa.
Summary:
The ecotoxicological effects of oil spill from the grounded vessel MV River
Princess on the intertidal benthic organisms of Sinquerim-Candolim beach at
Goa were investigated. An intertidal expanse of 1 km on either side of the
grounded vessel was selected to evaluate the concentration of total
petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) in the sediment and its effects on the
composition, abundance and diversity of micro-, meio- and macrobenthos. TPH
in the intertidal sediment ranged from 7.8 to 89 µg g- 1 (mean 35.44 ± 26.35
SD). Microbenthos comprised of microalgae, protozoans and juvenile forms of
meiobenthos. Apart from juvenile nematodes, which were abundant,
Coscinodiscus spp., Navicula spp., and Nitzschia spp. representing
microalgae were also observed in microbenthic samples. Meiobenthos was
represented by 13 taxa and their total density ranged between 92 and 1057
nos. 10 cm- 2. Maximum meiobenthic abundance of 1057 nos. 10 cm- 2 was
observed at Sinquerim. Nematodes were the dominant meiobenthic taxa followed
by turbellarians and harpacticoid copepods. The macrobenthos was numerically
dominated by polychaetes, followed by crustaceans whereas bivalve molluscs
were less represented. There was substantial increase in the petroleum
concentration in the beach sediment compared to the previously reported
values and highest TPH (89 µg g- 1 sediment) values were in the vicinity of
the grounded vessel. The polychaete/amphipod ratio and cumulative and
partial dominance abundance-biomass curves showed significant negative
impact of TPH on macrofauna. The benthic community structure also showed
measurable changes, as there was significant decrease (60%) in the number of
species. Given that the microalgal counts were low in sediment, it is
assumed that the intertidal meiofauna was possibly using oil-degrading
bacteria as alternate food source. In conclusion, the results reported here
suggest that the grounded ore carrier is not only detrimental to the beach
community, that may take longer time for recovery, but also affects the
beach morphology which may have long-term impact on local fishery.
=======================================================
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lawrence Rodrigues" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Goanet" <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, October 08, 2005 10:30 PM
Subject: [Goanet] Oil spills changing marine DNA
See http://dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=4941&CatID=5
A study by the Goa-based National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) has
revealed
that snails, oysters and clams affected by toxic oil components, if eaten,
can
cause cancer in humans.
[Sections deleted]
Still, the study's findings are ominous. While you nibble on seemingly
harmless
snails or oysters at a shack in Goa, it is possible they are causing
irrevocable
damage to your body.
