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Stoyanovich SS, Saunders LJ, Yang Z, Hanson ML, Hollebone BP, Orihel DM, Palace V, Rodriguez-Gil JL, Mirnaghi FS, Shah K, Blais JM. Chemical Weathering Patterns of Diluted Bitumen Spilled into Freshwater Limnocorrals. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023. [PMID: 37267462 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c05468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Due to the sudden nature of oil spills, few controlled studies have documented how oil weathers immediately following accidental release into a natural lake environment. Here, we evaluated the weathering patterns of Cold Lake Winter Blend, a diluted bitumen (dilbit) product, by performing a series of controlled spills into limnocorrals installed in a freshwater lake in Northern Ontario, Canada. Using a regression-based design, we added seven different dilbit volumes, ranging from 1.5 to 180 L, resulting in oil-to-water ratios between 1:71,000 (v/v) and 1:500 (v/v). We monitored changes in the composition of various petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs), including n-alkanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and oil biomarkers in dilbit over time, as it naturally weathered for 70 days. Depletion rate constants (kD) of n-alkanes and PAHs ranged from 0.0009 to 0.41 d-1 and 0.0008 to 0.38 d-1, respectively. There was no significant relationship between kD and spill volume, suggesting that spill size did not influence the depletion of petroleum hydrocarbons from the slick. Diagnostic ratios calculated from concentrations of n-alkanes, isoprenoids, and PAHs indicated that evaporation and photooxidation were major processes contributing to dilbit weathering, whereas dissolution and biodegradation were less important. These results demonstrate the usefulness of large scale field studies carried out under realistic environmental conditions to elucidate the role of different weathering processes following a dilbit spill.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Zeyu Yang
- Emergencies Science and Technology Section, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1V 1C7, Canada
| | - Mark L Hanson
- Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - Bruce P Hollebone
- Emergencies Science and Technology Section, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1V 1C7, Canada
| | - Diane M Orihel
- Department of Biology and School of Environmental Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Vince Palace
- International Institute for Sustainable Development, Experimental Lakes Area, 111 Lombard Avenue, Suite 325, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3N 0T4, Canada
| | - Jose L Rodriguez-Gil
- Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
- International Institute for Sustainable Development, Experimental Lakes Area, 111 Lombard Avenue, Suite 325, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3N 0T4, Canada
| | - Fatemeh S Mirnaghi
- Emergencies Science and Technology Section, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1V 1C7, Canada
| | - Keval Shah
- Emergencies Science and Technology Section, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1V 1C7, Canada
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Elvidge CK, Robinson CE, Caza RA, Hewitt LM, Frank RA, Orihel DM. Chemical communication in wood frog (Rana sylvatica) tadpoles is influenced by early-life exposure to naphthenic acid fraction compounds. AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY (AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS) 2023; 257:106435. [PMID: 36889125 DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2023.106435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Environmental pollutants can disrupt chemical communication between aquatic organisms by interfering with the production, transmission, and/or detection of, as well as responses to, chemical cues. Here, we test the hypothesis that early-life exposure to naphthenic acid fraction compounds (NAFCs) from oil sands tailings disrupts antipredator-associated chemical communication in larval amphibians. Wild adult wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) captured during their natural breeding period were combined (1 female:2 males) in six replicate mesocosms filled with either uncontaminated lakewater or with NAFCs isolated from an active tailings pond in Alberta, Canada, at nominal 5 mg/L concentrations. Egg clutches were incubated and tadpoles maintained in their respective mesocosms for ∼40 days post-hatch. Tadpoles (Gosner stage 25-31) were then transferred individually to trial arenas filled with uncontaminated water and exposed to one of six chemical alarm cue (AC) stimuli solutions following a 3 × 2 × 2 design (3 AC types × 2 stimulus carriers × 2 rearing exposure groups). Relative to control tadpoles, NAFC-exposed tadpoles demonstrated higher baseline activity levels (line crosses and direction changes) when introduced to uncontaminated water. Antipredator responses differed in graded fashion with AC type, with control ACs eliciting the greatest latency to resume activity, water the least, and NAFC-exposed ACs intermediate. Pre- to post-stimulus difference scores were non-significant in control tadpoles, while NAFC-exposed tadpoles demonstrated significantly greater variation. While this suggests that exposure to NAFCs from fertilization through hatching may have interfered with AC production, it is unclear whether the quality or quantity of cues was affected. There was also no clear evidence that NAFC carrier water interfered with ACs or the alarm response in unexposed control tadpoles. These results emphasize the importance of understanding how behavioral and physiological effects of early-life NAFC exposure on critical antipredator responses may persist across life history stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris K Elvidge
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, 116 Barrie Street, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada.
| | - Chloe E Robinson
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, 116 Barrie Street, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Rowena A Caza
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, 116 Barrie Street, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - L Mark Hewitt
- Water Science and Technology Directorate, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Burlington, ON L7S 1A1, Canada
| | - Richard A Frank
- Water Science and Technology Directorate, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Burlington, ON L7S 1A1, Canada
| | - Diane M Orihel
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, 116 Barrie Street, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada; School of Environmental Studies, Queen's University, 116 Barrie Street, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
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