Effects of petrogenic pollutants on North Atlantic and Arctic Calanus copepods: From molecular mechanisms to population impacts.

Oil and gas industries in the Northern Atlantic Ocean have gradually moved closer to the Arctic areas, a process expected to be further facilitated by sea ice withdrawal caused by global warming. Copepods of the genus Calanus hold a key position in these cold-water food webs, providing an important energetic link between primary production and higher trophic levels. Due to their ecological importance, there is a concern about how accidental oil spills and produced water discharges may impact cold-water copepods. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of the toxicity of petroleum on North Atlantic and Arctic Calanus copepods. We also review how recent development of high-quality transcriptomes from RNA-sequencing of copepods have identified genes regulating key biological processes, like molting, diapause and reproduction in Calanus copepods, to suggest linkages between exposure, molecular mechanisms and effects on higher levels of biological organization. We found that the available ecotoxicity threshold data for these copepods provide valuable information about their sensitivity to acute petrogenic exposures; however, there is still insufficient knowledge regarding underlying mechanisms of toxicity and the potential for long-term implications of relevance for copepod ecology and phenology. Copepod transcriptomics has expanded our understanding of how key biological processes are regulated in cold-water copepods. These advances can improve our understanding of how pollutants affect biological processes, and thus provide the basis for new knowledge frameworks spanning the effect continuum from molecular initiating events to adverse effects of regulatory relevance. Such efforts, guided by concepts such as adverse outcome pathways (AOPs), enable standardized and transparent characterization and evaluation of knowledge and identifies research gaps and priorities. This review suggests enhancing mechanistic understanding of exposure-effect relationships to better understand and link biomarker responses to adverse effects to improve risk assessments assessing ecological effects of pollutant mixtures, like crude oil, in Arctic areas.

Simulating crude oil exposure, uptake and effects in North Atlantic Calanus finmarchicus populations.

A simulation model framework (SYMBIOSES) that includes a 3-dimensional ocean physics and biology model and a model for transport and fate of oil was used to investigate the potential for bioaccumulation and lethal/sublethal effects of oil components in the copepod Calanus finmarchicus in the Lofoten-Vesterålen archipelago of Norway. The oil model is coupled with the biology model by way of a bioaccumulation model, from which mortality and reduction in reproduction are calculated via a total body burden (TBB). The simulation results indicate that copepod body burden levels are affected by the spill type (surface spill, subsea blowout) and the spill timing (spring, autumn). The effects of oil component bioaccumulation on the copepod population for all scenarios are small, though greatest in the subsea blowout scenarios. We attribute this to the limited spatial and temporal overlap between copepods and oil in the environment simulated by the model. The coupling of the processes of oil transport, bioaccumulation/excretion and the associated effects are discussed in the context of the model framework and with a view towards applications for Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA).

Crude oil affecting the biomass of the marine copepod Calanus finmarchicus: Comparing a simple and complex population model.

In the current study differences were evaluated between a complex 3D multistage population model (SINMOD) and a simpler consumer-resource population model for estimating the effects of crude oil on the marine copepod Calanus finmarchicus. The SINTEF OSCAR model was used to simulate hypothetical oil spills in the Lofoten area in 1995, 1997, and 2001. Both population models simulated a negligible effect of crude oil on the Calanus' biomass when assuming low species sensitivity. The simple model estimated a larger effect on the biomass (up to a 100% decline) compared to the complex model (maximum decline of 60-80%) at high species sensitivity to crude oil. These differences may be related to the inclusion of copepod advection in the complex model. Our study showed that if little data is available to parameterize a model, or if computational resources are scarce, the simple model could be used for risk screening. Nevertheless, the possibility of including a dilution factor for time-varying biomass should be examined to improve the estimations of the simple model. The complex model should be used for a more in depth risk analysis, as it includes physical processes such as the drift of organisms and differentiation between developmental stages.

Warming before and after epidural block before general anaesthesia for major abdominal surgery prevents perioperative hypothermia: A randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Epidural analgesia (EDA) is known to be an independent risk factor for perioperative hypothermia and its many known adverse effects. Combined general and epidural anaesthesia decreases intraoperative core temperature more rapidly than general anaesthesia alone. Hence, adequate warming procedures are needed for these patients. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the effects of active skin-surface warming before and/or after initiation of EDA during general anaesthesia as a procedure to prevent perioperative hypothermia. DESIGN: A randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Department of Anaesthesiology in a general hospital in Germany from January 2013 until August 2014. PATIENTS: After obtaining written informed consent, we included 99 adult patients undergoing elective major abdominal surgery under combined general anaesthesia and EDA with an expected duration of surgery of at least 120 min. Patients were excluded if they were under 18 years of age, classified as American Society of Anesthesiologists' physical status 4 or higher or if patients refused EDA. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups and received either only passive insulation, 15 min of active air-forced warming after EDA and before induction of general anaesthesia, or two periods, each of 15 min, of active air-forced warming before and after EDA. Core and skin temperatures were measured at several time points throughout the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome measure was the incidence of hypothermia on arrival in the ICU. The secondary outcome measure was the incidence of postoperative shivering. In addition, the perioperative change in body core temperature was recorded. RESULTS: Without prewarming (n = 32), 72% of patients became hypothermic (<36°C) at the end of anaesthesia. Fifteen minutes of warming after insertion of the epidural catheter and before initiation of general anaesthesia reduced the incidence of postoperative hypothermia to 6% (n = 33). After two periods of 15 min of warming before and after insertion of the epidural catheter, no patient became hypothermic (n = 34). Prewarming in either 'warming' group prevents the initial temperature drop which was observed in the control group. CONCLUSION: Warming for 15 min before and after initiation of EDA in patients receiving combined anaesthesia is effective in preventing postoperative hypothermia. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier: NCT01795482).