Alterations in Growth and Physiology of Soft-Shell Clams, Mya arenaria, Chronically Oiled with Bunker C from Chedabucto Bay, Nova Scotia, 1970–76

Abstract

Two populations of soft-shell clam, Mya arenaria, one from a chronically oiled lagoon (since the Arrow oil spill in 1970) and the other from a nonoiled lagoon, were compared as to population structure, growth, and metabolism. The oiled lagoon sediments contained up to 3800 μg/g oil (UV determination), and clams up to 200 μg/g hydrocarbon in their tissues (fluorescence). The oiled population of clams differed from the nonoiled population in lower total numbers with fewer mature adults, a 1–2-yr lag in tissue growth, a lower shell growth rate, and a reduced carbon flux with a lower assimilation rate. Results are interpreted to indicate that the recovery potential of M. arenaria in these oiled sediments is low and that these oiled populations remain under continued stress 6 yr after the Arrow spill. Key words: physiology, petroleum, growth, carbon flow, clams, recruitment