Abstract:

Results from experiments assessing the effect of oil on ghost shrimp. Experiments were conducted in laboratory microcosms, and assess effects of oil on the rate of adult survival, the incidence of cuticular lesions, and the bacteria associated with the shrimp cuticle (as potential contributor to the lesions).

Suggested Citation:

Kascak, Alex; Klerks, Paul. 2017. Results from experiments assessing the effects of oil on the sediment bioturbator (ghost shrimp). Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N7VH5M7T

Purpose:

To assess the effect of oil exposure on ghost shrimp health. As ghost shrimp bioturbation affects oil distribution and degradation, it is important to determine whether these ghost shrimp can function normally when exposed to oil.

Data Parameters and Units:

Oil concentration (uL/cm^2), Shrimp mortality (%), Temperature (deg C), Cuticular lesion frequency (%), location of lesion on shrimp, lesion largest dimension (cm), lession width (cm), microbial community on shrimp cuticles and in sediment (at different oil exposure concentrations), taxonomic level, rank, taxon, number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) present in the sample.

Methods:

Data reported in this dataset cover two different experiments. Both experiments used the same basic design. Each shrimp was kept individually in a microcosm. Microcosms were created using PVC tubes with a diameter of 10.16 cm and cut into 60-cm lengths. These were capped at one end with plastic end caps. Microcosms were placed into environmental chambers (3 chambers per experiment), for control of temperature and light conditions. Treatments were randomized among chambers. Shrimp and sediment were collected from Bay St. Louis, at a beach near Waveland, MS. Shrimp were collected via yabbie pump and kept in individual plastic vials. Upon return to UL Lafayette, shrimp were kept in a recirculating tank system with 15 ppt water when not being used for an experiment. Microcosms were set up identically for both experiments. Each microcosm was filled with 40 cm of the sediment and 10 cm of seawater. Microcosms were given a week to settle before addition of the shrimp. One shrimp was added per microcosm and any shrimp that failed to burrow within a day was replaced. Shrimp were given at least 5 days to acclimate to the microcosms before any treatment was applied. Deionized water was periodically added to maintain the water level of the microcosm. Bacterial Community Experiment The microcosms for this experiment were dosed with 0, 9, 18 or 36 µL oil per cm2 of sediment surface area. Crude oil was mixed with 20g of dried sediment prior to being added to microcosms. The microcosms for this experiment were left for 21 days after crude oil exposure. At the end of the exposure period, shrimp were removed from each microcosm. Bacterial communities were obtained from cuticle as well as microcosm sediment. The shrimp were moved to the microbiology lab. The shrimp were rinsed with filter-sterilized seawater to remove sediment and other “foreign” material. A sterilized scalpel was used to cut a piece of cuticle from the dorsal side of the abdomen. DNA extraction was done using QIAGEN DNEasy Blood & Tissue kit. Samples were sent to a third party for sequencing. Sequences went through ‘cleaning’ prior to return. Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were classified using 97% similarity; this resulted in species identification. OTU classification was done with BLASTn against a curated GreenGenes database (DeSantis et al., 2006). Adult Toxicity Experiment The microcosms for this experiment were dosed with 0, 5.86, 18.75, 22.0 or 38.5 µL oil per cm2 of sediment surface area. Crude oil was mixed with 20g of dried sediment prior to being added to microcosms. The crude oil and sediment was spread evenly over the sediment surface. Shrimp were exposed to the crude oil for a total of 96 hours, in incubators at 13.0 °C, 20.6 °C and 27.8 °C (representing average winter, spring/fall and summer temperatures at the Bay St. Louis collection site). The microcosms were then emptied, and shrimp survival recorded. Any live shrimp that had a lesion were kept for lesion analysis. Photographs were taken of the shrimp lesion with a ruler to standardize the measurement process. ImageJ software was then used to determine lesion size. Lesion location on the animal (specific body part where a lesion occurred) was also recorded.

Instruments:

(see methods section)

Individual Files: