NOAA Coastal Storms Program

Ecological Impacts

Publications regarding petroleum hydrocarbons

Incardona, J.P., Carls, M.G., Day, H.L., Sloan, C.A., Bolton, J.L., Collier, T.K., and Scholz, N.L. (2009). Cardiac arrhythmia is the primary response of embryonic Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) exposed to crude oil during weathering. Environmental Science & Technology, 43:201-207. Pacific herring spawn in near-shore marine environments and, hence, their embryos are at risk of exposure to weathered crude oil from oil spills. This study shows that exposure to weathered crude oil impairs the developing heart of Pacific herring embyros, an organ essential to the subsequent development of other organs and tissues.

Incardona, J.P., Day, H.L., Collier, T.K., and Scholz, N.L. (2006). Developmental toxicity of 4-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in zebrafish is differentially dependent on AH receptor isoforms and hepatic cytochrome P4501A metabolism. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 217:308-321. This study identifies multiple pathways for hydrocarbon-induced toxicity in fish at early life stages. The findings are an important step towards developing new diagnostic tools that can eventually be used to monitor the health of fish in coastal habitats affected by non-point source runoff from roads and other impervious surfaces.

Incardona, J.P., Carls, M.G., Teraoka, H., Sloan, C.A., Collier, T.K., and Scholz, N.L. (2005). Aryl hydrocarbon receptor-independent toxicity of weathered crude oil during fish development. Environmental Health Perspectives, 113:1755-1762. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) occur in stormwater as complex mixtures. This study uses advanced technologies in molecular biology and genetics to identify novel mechanisms for developmental toxicity in fish embryos and larvae exposed to oil, grease, vehicle exhaust, and other environmental sources of PAHs.

Incardona, J.P., Collier, T.K., and Scholz, N.L. (2004). Defects in cardiac function precede morphological abnormalities in fish embryos exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 196:191-205. The heart is one of the first organs to develop in fish embryos, and a properly functioning heart is essential for the subsequent formation of organs and tissues. This study shows that the embryonic heart is a key target organ for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and that most developmental defects in PAH-exposed fish can be attributed to disrupted cardiac function.