Evaders in Effluents

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Evaders in Effluents

• Experimenting With the Effects of Lobster
  Exposure to Synthetic Musks

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What is the Problem?

• Pollution of Coastal Marine Ecosystems
• Pharmaceutical Personal Care Products (PPCPs)
• Endocrine Disruptors ? Synthetic Musks

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Known and Unknown

• Epel and Luckenbach ? mussels
• Where else can Synthetic Musks Accumulate?
• Depositional Sediment
• Benthic Ecosystem
• LOBSTERS

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LOBSTERS

• Bio-indicator Species
• Community Food Web
• Life Cycle

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Hypotheses

• Does Exposure Delayed Metabolic Response in
  Lobsters?
• If so, does susceptibility to pollutants like Hg
  increase?

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Site Selection The Gulf of Maine

• Established Marine Market
• Scientific Community
• Dense Coastal Development MANY Pollutants
• Merrimack River
• Timeline 15 years

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Contaminated Sediment Sites
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Laboratory Experiment

• Conditions As Natural As Possible
• Measure Metabolic Responses to Pollutants
• Synthetic musks only
• Hg, Cu, AND synthetic musks
• Hg, Cu, NO synthetic musks
• No pollutants

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In the Field

• Six Sites ? Mouth of Merrimack (3) and Tip of
  Stellwagen Bank (3)
• Measure Abiotic Information
• T, S, D.O.

• Measure Levels of Contaminants
• Contaminants synthetic musks, Hg, Cu, and other
  trace metals identified in this region
• Lobsters, Cod, Skate, Sea Urchins, Sea Robins,
  Sculpin, mussels
• Depositional Sediment
• Water

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Projected Results

• For Lobsters exposed to contaminants
• Bioaccumulation of contaminants in lobsters will
  increase over time
• Hg, Cu bioaccumulation increase
• Control group

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Mm, yummy yummy. But what has my food been
absorbing besides butter?
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Conclusions and Future

• Synthetic Musk Concentrations Threaten Marine
  Ecosystem Health to Unknown Extent
• Lobsters as the Best Indicator Species in the
  Gulf of Maine
• Potential Impact on Marine Ecosystem Function
• Potential Impact on Human Health

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Come on kids, lets clean up our act

• Baby Lobsters