Intertidal benthic organisms

Gastropods (snails), echinoderms (sea urchins and sea stars) and annelids (lugworms) were exposed to oil saturated sediments and assayed for AHH activity (17). Sediment was mixed with Venezuelan crude at a concentration of 0.2-0.5% and exposures were for one week (4°C) in a static system with water renewal at 2-3 day intervals. The aim was to determine if oil soaked sediments could induce AHH activity in some representative intertidal benthic organisms common to the subarctic waters of the North West Atlantic. Digestive gland homogenates from snails, sea urchins, and sea stars and a combination of intestinal and gill tissues from annelids were used in the enzyme assays. 

Within interstitial habitats of sandy beaches, particles are trapped in the upper 5-cm surface layer and give rise to a bacterial-protozoan community.5 Below this level, a bacterial flora attached to sand grains removes some of the dissolved organic carbon while supporting a meiofauna community comprised of nematods and copepods. The biotic community of these intertidal sandflats is supplemented by the production of organic matter via benthic diatoms which migrate vertically with the tides. 

Cook, P. L. M., ReviU, A. T., Clementson, L. A., and Volkman, J. K. (2004a). Benthic carbon and nitrogen cycling on intertidal mudflats of a temperate Australian estuary III. Sources of organic matter. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 280, 55-72. 

The sea includes a wide variety of ecosystems, species, and habitats. When looking at the effects of oil spills, it is convenient to divide these into fish, plankton, benthic invertebrates, epontic organisms, marine mammals, intertidal and shoreline organisms, marine plants, and special ecosystems. 

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