Vol. 53 - Alaska Resources Library and Information Services

synthesis as mutagenic/teratogenic agents].
Eggs of fish and polychaetes
absorb hydrocarbons such as naphthalene (Rossi and Anderson
1977; Eldridge et al. 1978), and Tatem (1977) showed the lethal
effects of a brief 72-hr exposure of gravid female shrimp to WSF
when larval hatch was subsequently reduced 80%.
The longevity of oil bound to sediments in the Bering Sea could result
in a chronic exposure of eggs during the 11-month development
time for king and Tanner crab as hydrocarbons continuously desorb
to interstitial and bottom water in accord with solubility, and mass
balance properties. Sonntag et al. (1980) predicted that 8-16 g
oil/m 2 would significantly inhibit annual benthic production. Curl
and Manen (1982) discussed oil transport to the benthos via storms
and fecal pellet rain, and, based on OCSEAP spill scenarios in the
St. George Basin, predicted that 10 g/m 2 mixed 1 cm deep would
result in a crude oil concentration of 3-4 ppt.
Since larval
stages are invariably more sensitive to pollution than are adults,
we consider the same to be true of embryos, especially during chronic
exposures. Therefore sediment levels of 5-10 g/m 2 (perhaps lower)
could be toxic to crab and shrimp eggs over months of exposure
and kill significant proportions of a following year-class as eggs,
while a current year-class is killed as zoeae in the water column.
5. Both modeling efforts concluded that oil spills so severe as to
eliminate an entire larval year-class would not constitute a significant
effect on benthic stocks (and in turn the fishery) because
longevity and fecundity of the species would mask this loss.
We
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