| Summary: | Subtidal benthic biota were monitored for petroleum hydrocarbons following two experimental oil spills at Cape Hatt, N.W.T., Canada. In one spill oil was chemically dispersed into the water column, and in the other oil was released onto the water surface and allowed to strand on the shoreline. In addition to baseline samples, samples were collected immediately after the oil releases, two to three weeks after and one and two years after. Initial observations did not distinguish between effects of the surface and dispersed releases. Total oil content and hydrocarbon compositional analyses were conducted to investigate patterns of uptake and depuration for five different arctic species: Astarte borealis, Macoma calcarea, Mya truncata, Serripes groenlandicus and Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis. Filter-feeding species took up oil rapidly from the water column, while deposit-feeding species took up oil less rapidly from the sediments. All species depurated most of the oil after one year, but after two years the deposit feeders appeared to be taking up more oil from sediments contaminated by stranded oil from the surface oil release.Key words: oil, petroleum, determination, benthos, weathering, degradation, depuration, Arctic Mots clés: pétrole, pétroliers, détermination, benthos, dégradation, décomposition, dépuration, arctiques
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