Effects of No. 2 Fuel Oil, Nigerian Crude Oil, and Used Crankcase Oil on Attached Algal Communities: Acute and Chronic Toxicity of Water-Soluble Constituents

Abstract

Water extracts of a no. 2 fuel oil, a Nigerian crude oil, and used crankcase oil were examined for their effects on algal communities in experiments lasting several weeks conducted under near-natural conditions. No. 2 fuel oil extracts depressed algal biomass (chlorophyll a ) and resulted in blue-green algal (cyanobacterial) dominance and decreased diatom occurrence. Changes in concentrations of chlorophyll c , which was specific for diatoms in this work, and phycocyanin, which was specific for blue-green algae, confirmed the observations. Used crankcase oil extracts also depressed biomass, but Nigerian crude extracts did not, and both these extracts had less effect on community composition than did no. 2 fuel oil extracts. Photosynthetic 14 C incorporation was both stimulated and depressed by exposure to extracts with hydrocarbon concentrations 0.038 to 0.124 mg/liter. Short-term exposure to higher concentrations (1.17 to 15.30 mg of hydrocarbons per liter) of no. 2 fuel oil extracts depressed photosynthetic 14 C incorporation by Vaucheria -dominated communities in all tests but one. Toxicity was greater from extracts prepared in the light than from extracts prepared in the dark.