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The Effects of Oil Pollution on Aquatic Ecosystems

The type of changes that can affect an aquatic ecosystem due to oil pollution depends on the quantity of oil spilled, the season, tidal energy and waves, shoreline type and type of oil. There are five different classes of oil and the weather can reduce the effect of the toxic elements in or produced by oil pollution. Oil affects not only the animals and plants that live in the water, but those that rely on aquatic animals as a food source.

Invertebrates
- Direct contact with oil is toxic to invertebrates. In particular, this is a problem for bottom-dwelling invertebrates that live near the shoreline. Other impacts include altering invertebrate feeding rates, altering metabolism, altering formation of shells and physical smothering. These invertebrates will die due to the buildup of high levels of contaminants and chemicals in the body; these, in turn, are passed on to the invertebrates' predators.
Habitat Changes
- Oil pollution can persist in the polluted area for many years; sediment has been detected as much as 30 years after an oil spill. These spills change the distribution and diversity of species, along with the population structure in aquatic ecosystems. Some animal populations and habitats have been able to recover after spills; however, the habitats that are less affected are those that are offshore or pelagic. Habitats along the shore or are inshore may not recover or take a very long time to recover.
Plants
- Aquatic plants respond in very different ways to oil. Many species may be killed off due to oil pollution. Algae can either die off or begin to grow proliferate, depending on the type of algae and oil pollution. Typically oil prevents growth and plant germination; however, plant species do recover once the oil pollution cleanup is finished.
Mammals and Birds
- Oil that comes into physical contact with mammals and birds destroys the properties of feathers and fur. Oiled birds lose their buoyancy in water and also cannot fly. An oil drop that is 1-inch in diameter is enough to kill a bird. Mammals that depend on fur as insulation can die from hypothermia because oil removes the furs insulation function. These animals attempt to clean the oil off and this results in inhaling or ingesting the oil; ingesting oil leads to loss of organ function, if not immediate death.
Fish
- Fish are affected by direct contact with oil pollution or due to changes in the habitat. Ingesting oil affects the survival of larvae and causes egg properties to change. If these fish live to adult size, they will be smaller than fish that have not been exposed to oil, may have problems reproducing and may experience respiratory and heart problems.

Nature