Effects of an oil production effluent on gametogenesis and gamete performance in the purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus Stimpson)
Krause, P.R.
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 13(7): 1153-1161
1994
ISSN/ISBN: 0730-7268 DOI: 10.1002/etc.5620130717
Accession: 008559114
Adult organisms subjected to chronic discharges from a point source of pollution may exhibit several sublethal responses. One such response is the impairment of gamete production. This may be expressed in the amount and/or quality of gametes produced by adults. In this study the effects of chronic exposure to produced water (an oil production effluent) on the gametogenesis and gamete performance of the purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrolus purpuratus Stimpson) were examined using an in situ caging experiment. Adult purple sea urchins were kept in benthic cages arrayed down-field from a discharging diffuser at 13 sites, with distances ranging from 5 to 1,000 m. Cage exposures were maintained in the field for eight weeks, and each cage held 25 animals. Gametogenesis was examined for each sex by comparing a size-independent measure of relative gonad mass as determined by analysis of covariance. Results showed that there was a significant negative relationship between these estimates of relative gonad mass and distance from the outfall for both sexes, indicating that sea urchins living closer to the outfall produced significantly larger gonads. Gamete performance was measured through a fertilization kinetics bioassay that held the concentration of eggs constant and varied the amount of sperm added. The proportion of eggs fertilized under each sperm concentration was determined and the response fit to a model of fertilization kinetics. This experiment showed significant differences in the fertilizability of eggs between cages, and egg fertilizability showed a positive relationship with distance away from the outfall. These findings indicate that although adult sea urchins exposed to a produced water outfall exhibit larger gonads, they suffer a marked decrease in gamete performance.
