Using toxicogenomic tools to detect effects of oil-related contaminants in seabirds

• Main Authors: 3rd World Seabird Conference 2021, Provencher, Jennifer
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Underline Science Inc. 2021
• Subjects: Toxicogenomics; Ecosystem; Environmental Engineering; FOS Environmental engineering; Water Pollution; Arctic; Canada; Black guillemot; Climate change; Alaska
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.48448/wecf-8859; https://underline.io/lecture/34537-using-toxicogenomic-tools-to-detect-effects-of-oil-related-contaminants-in-seabirds

Abstract: In the past few decades much has been learned about the effects of oil on marine ecosystems. Specifically, the Exxon-Valdez oil spill in Alaska in 1989, the Treasure oil spill in South Africa in 2000, and most recently the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, have led to an increase in studies that have examined the effects of oil on marine ecosystems, from invertebrates to birds. Currently in the Canadian Arctic there are low levels of shipping and oil exploration-related activities as compared to many other regions globally. While current levels of shipping and other oil-related activities may be low, there are natural oil and gas seeps in the region that expose seabird to oil-related contaminants. Importantly, there are several new biochemical/molecular techniques being used in effects studies in relation to oil. We present data on oil-related contaminants in two Arctic seabird species (the think-billed murre and the black guillemot) in relation to toxicogenomic and metabolomics tools that can identify sub-lethal effects from oil exposure. This information serves as baseline information for the region, as well as a tool that can be applied throughout these species' ranges to understand how oil pollution may affect the physiology of individuals. Authors: Jennifer Provencher¹, Mark Mallory², Bruce Pauli³, Phil Thomas³, Doug Crump³, Sarma Sailendra³, Yasmeen Zahaby³ ¹ECCC, ²Acadia University, ³Environment and Climate Change Canada