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THE BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF OIL POLLUTION IN A RIVER 1
Author(s) -
McCauley Rita N.
Publication year - 1966
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1966.11.4.0475
Subject(s) - pollution , plankton , environmental chemistry , water pollution , environmental science , pollutant , oil pollution , biology , epilimnion , eutrophication , ecology , chemistry , environmental engineering , nutrient , hypolimnion
Physical, chemical, and biological conditions in the water and sediments of Muddy River, Massachusetts, were observed from autumn 1961 through summer 1963 to determine the effects of oil pollution on biological activity. Samples from above, in, and below the polluted area were collected and analyzed. The heavy bunker oil pollutant formed a thin partial film on the surface of the water that partially excluded the oxygen from the water but not sufficiently to destroy developing plankton. Low biochemical oxygen demand correlated with consistently high concentrations of oil in the sludge in the polluted region indicating slow decomposition of the oil by microorganisms. The oil was markedly toxic to the plankton and to the macrofauna of the sediments. The following plankters tolerated the pollution even during periods of highest oil concentration: Lyngbya, Oscillatoria, Ankistrodesmus, Chlamydomonas, Closterium, Gonium, Scenedesmus, Asterionella, Cyclotella, Fragilaria, Meridion, Navicula, Tabellaria, Euglena, Trachelomonas, Vorticella, Asplanchna, Keratella, Polyarthra, Cyclops, and Nemata types. In the sediments, Gammarus, Agrion nymphs, and Dugesia were unable to tolerate conditions in the region of oil pollution while Tubifex, Tendipes larvae, Nemata, and Hirudinca types were tolerant and remained.