Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Recovery of infauna macrobenthic invertebrates in oil-polluted tropical soft-bottom tidal flats: 7 years post spill

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Coastal oil spills constitute significant threat to biotic energy distribution, and biodiversity integrity amongst others. This study monitored the recovery of low-intertidal, soft-bottom infauna macrobenthic invertebrates in Bodo Creek intermittently over a 7-year period post oil spill. Samples were taken twice a month (spring and neap low tides) for 6 months (September 2015–February 2016) at sites previously studied (pre-spill baseline studies, 3-year and 5-year post-spill studies) for the effects of oil pollution using the same sampling methods used during initial studies of the same area. Comparatively, the initial studies reported Polychaeta as the dominant class against the dominant Crustacea reported in this 7-year post-spill study, indicating a change in the community structure of the study area. Infauna macro-invertebrate communities recorded showed an improvement (that is, increased species richness and number of individuals) over the initial 3-year and 5-year post-spill studies. However, relating the results to the initial baseline pre-spill studies, an annual average of 9.7% recovery rate was observed. Analysis of results showed that the total hydrocarbon content (THC) of the sediment remained high (90.08–12,184 mg/kg) but was markedly lower than levels observed during the initial post-spill study (6422–7186 mg/kg). Tidal flushing and biodegradation processes were deemed responsible for the reduction in THC. This study provides a rare dataset that describes the effects of oil pollution on a previously near-pristine estuarine environment in the tropics.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ahmed A-O (2015) Seasonal variations in surface water quality index of the mainstream running through Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Res J Environ Toxicol 9:71–89

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Alden RW, Weisberg SB, Ranasinghe JA, Dauer DM (1997) Optimizing temporal sampling strategies for benthic environmental monitoring programs. Mar Pollut Bull 34:913–922

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alexander M (1999) Biodegradation and bioremediation. Second edition, Academic press: 453pp

  • Aller RC, Aller JY (1998) The effect of biogenic irrigation intensity and solute exchange on diagenetic reaction rates in marine sediments. J Mar Res 56:905–936

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Aller RC, Aller JY, Kemp PF (2001) Effects of particle and solute transport on rates and extent of remineralization in bioturbated sediment. In: Aller JYSAW, Aller RC (eds) Organism–sediment interactions. University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, USA, p 402

    Google Scholar 

  • Babcock-Adams L, Chanton JP, Joye SB, Medeiros PM (2017) Hydrocarbon composition and concentrations in the Gulf of Mexico sediments in the 3 years following the Macondo well blowout. Environ Pollut 229:329–338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.05.078

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bagge P (1969) Effects of pollution on estuarine ecosystems. I. Effects of effluents from wood processing industries on the hydrography, bottom and fauna of Saltkällefjord (W Sweden). MerenutkimuslaitoksenJulk 228:3–118

    Google Scholar 

  • Bilyard G (1987) The value of benthic in fauna in marine pollution monitoring studies. Mar Pollut Bull 18:581–585

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks KM, Stierns AR, Mahnken CV, Blackburn DB (2003) Chemical and biological remediation of the benthos near Atlantic salmon farms. Aquaculture 219:355–377

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman D (1996) Water quality assessments. A guide to the use of biota, sediments and water in environmental monitoring, vol 626. Chapman and Hall, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheung SG, Lam NWY, Wu RSS, Shin PKS (2008) Spatio-temporal changes of marine macrobenthic community in subtropical waters upon recovery from eutrophication. II. Life-history traits and feeding guilds of polychaete community. Mar Pollut Bull 56:297–307

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crawley M (2007) The R book. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dauvin JC (2000) The muddy fine sand Abra alba-Melinna palmate community of the Bay of Morlaix twenty years after the Amoco Cadiz oil spill. Mar Pollut Bull 40:528–536

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Day JH (1967) A monograph on the Polychaeta of Southern Africa, vol 878. British Museum of Natural History, London

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Department of Petroleum Resources (2002) Environmental guidelines and standards for the petroleum industry in Nigeria. Department of Petroleum Resources, Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Lagos, pp 30–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Diaz RJ, Rosenberg R (1995) Marine benthic hypoxia: a review of its ecological effects and the behavioural responses of benthic macrofauna. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev 33:245–303

    Google Scholar 

  • Duke NC (2016) Oil spill impacts on mangroves: recommendations for operational planning and action based on a global review. Mar Pollut Bull 109:700–715

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Emuedo OA, Anoliefo GO, Emuedo CO (2014) Oil pollution and water quality in the Niger Delta: implications for the sustainability of the mangrove ecosystem. Global Journal of Human-social Science (B) 14(6):1–9

  • Fauchald K (1977) The polychaete worms. Definitions and keys to the orders, families and genera. Natural History of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, p 199

    Google Scholar 

  • Fentiman A, Zabbey N (2015) Environmental degradation and cultural erosion in Ogoniland: a case study of the oil spills in Bodo. The Extractive Ind Soc 2(4):615–624

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferrando A, Gonzalez E, Franco M, Commendatore M, Nievas M (2015) Oil spill effects on macrofaunal communities and bioturbation of pristine marine sediments (Caleta Valdes, Patagonia, Argentina): experimental evidence of low resistance capacities of benthic systems without history of pollution. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22(20):15294–15306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzhugh K (2005) The inferential basis of species hypotheses: the solution to defining the term ‘species’. Mar Ecol 26:155–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gundlach ER (2018) Oil-related mangrove loss east of Bonny River. In: Makowski C and Finkl CW (eds.), Threats to mangrove forests. Springer Coastal Research Library 25, 267–321.

  • Hart AI (1994) The ecology of the communities of benthic macrofauna in the mangrove swamp of Port Harcourt area of the Niger Delta. Doctoral thesis, University Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart AI (2018) The unsung heroes of our time. University of Port Harcourt Inaugural Lecture Series No. 148, June 14, 2018

  • Hart AI, Zabbey N (2005) Physico-chemistry and benthic fauna of Woji Creek in the lower Niger Delta Nigeria. Environ Ecol 23(2):361–368

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hawkins SJ, Gibbs PE, Pope ND, Burt GR (2002) Recovery of polluted ecosystems: the case for long-term studies. Mar Environ Res 54:215–222

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hong S, Khim JS, Ryu J, Kang SG, Shim WJ, Yim UH (2014) Environmental and ecological effects and recoveries after five years of the Hebei Spirit oil spill, Taean, Korea. Ocean Coast Manag 102:522–532

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huq SMI and Alam MD (2005) A Handbook on analyses of Soil, Plant and Water. BACER-DU, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. pp 1–246

  • Hutchings PA, Ahyong S, Byrne M, Przeslawski R, Worheide G (2007) Vulnerability of benthic invertebrates of the Great Barrier Reef to climate change. In: Johnson J, Marshall P (eds) Climate change and the Great Barrier Reef: a vulnerability assessment. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and Australian Greenhouse Office, Townsville, pp 309–356

    Google Scholar 

  • Isaac O (2013) Effect of oil spill on macro-zoobenthos in Bodo creek, Nigeria. Unpublished (Undergraduate thesis), Department of Animal and environmental Biology, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

  • Je JG, Belan T, Levings C, Koo BJ (2003) Changes in benthic communities along a presumed pollution gradient in Vancouver Harbour. Mar Environ Res 57:121–135

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Karakassis I, Hatziyanni E, Tsapakis M, Plaiti W (1999) Benthic recovery following cessation of fish farming: a series of successes and catastrophes. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 184:205–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ko JY, Day JW (2004) A review of ecological impacts of oil and gas development on coastal ecosystems in the Mississippi Delta. Ocean Coast Manag 47:579–623

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kotta J (2000) Impact of eutrophication and biological invasions on the structure and functions of benthic macrofauna. Diss. Biol. Univ. Tartu. University Press, Tartu, p 63

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotta J, Kotta I, Viitasalo I (2000) Effect of diffuse and point source nutrient supply on the low diverse macrozoobenthic communities of the northern Baltic Sea. Boreal Environ Res 5:235–242

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotta J, Martin G, Aps R (2007) Sensitivity of benthic vegetation and invertebrate functional guilds to oil spills and its use in oil contingency management related negotiation processes. Proc Estonian Acad Sci Biol Ecol 56(4):255–269

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotta J, Aps R, Herkul K (2008) Predicting ecological resilience of marine benthic communities facing a high risk of oil spill. Environ Probl Coastal Reg VII 99:101–110

    Google Scholar 

  • Navarro-Barranco C, McNeill CL, Widdicombe CE, Guerra-García JM, Widdicombe S (2017) Long-term dynamics in a soft-bottom amphipod community and the influence of the pelagic environment. Mar Environ Res 129:133–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2017.04.013

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Okoye CO, Okunrobo LA (2014) Impact of oil spill on land and water and its health implications in Odu-gboro community, Sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria. World J Environ Sci Eng 1(1):1–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Okoye JO, Ngokere AJ, Ogenyi SI, Onyemelukwe AO (2014) Histopathological and hormonal disrupting effects of Escravos crude oil on the ovary of Chinchilla rabbits. J Toxicol Environ Health Sci 6(2):31–37

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Onwugbuta-Enyi J, Zabbey N, Erondu ES (2008) Water quality of Bodo Creek in the lower Niger Delta basin. Adv Environ Biol 2(3):132–136

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Park HJ, Kang HY, Park TH, Kang C-K (2017) Comparative trophic structures of macrobenthic food web in two macrotidal wetlands with and without a dike on the temperate coast of Korea as revealed by stable isotopes. Mar Environ Res 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2017.09.018

  • Pearson TH, Rosenberg R (1978) Macrobenthic succession in relation to organic enrichment and pollution of the marine environment. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev 16:229–311

    Google Scholar 

  • Pegg S, Zabbey N (2013) Oil and water: the Bodo spills and the destruction of traditional livelihood structures in the Niger Delta. Commun Develop J 48:391–405

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pereira PMF, Black KD, McLusky DS, Nickell TD (2004) Recovery of sediments after cessation of marine fish farm production. Aquaculture 235:315–330

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Powell CB (1983) Fresh and brackish water shrimps of economic importance in the Niger Delta. In: Proceedings of the second Fisheries Society of Nigeria (FISON), pp. 254–285

  • Powell CB, Hart AI, Deekae S (1985) Market survey of the periwinkle Tympanotonus fuscatus in Rivers State: sizes, prices and exploitation levels’, in E. A. Ita, T. O. Ajayi, B. Ezenna et al.eds., Proceedings of the 4th Annual Conference of the Fisheries Society of Nigeria, , Lagos, Nigeria, pp. 55–61

  • R Core Team (2016) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria URL https://www.R-project.org/

    Google Scholar 

  • Reise K (2002) Sediment mediated species interactions in coastal waters. J Sea Res 48(2):127–141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg R (1972) Benthic faunal recovery in a Swedish Fjord following the closure of a sulphite pulp mill. Nordic Soc Oikos 23(1):92–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sam K, Coulon F, Prpich G (2017a) Management of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated sites in Nigeria: current challenges and future direction. Land Use Policy 64:133–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.01.051

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sam K, Coulon F, Prpich G (2017b) A multi-attribute methodology for the prioritisation of oil contaminated sites in the Niger Delta. Sci Total Environ 579:1323–1332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.11.126

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • SAS (Statistical Analysis Systems) (1989) User’s guide, Version 6 (4th edn) Vol. 1. Cary, North Carolina: SAS Institute

  • Sasekumar A (1974) Distribution of macrofauna on a Malayan mangrove shore. J Anim Ecol 43:51–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seo JY, Kim M, Lim HS, Choi JW (2014) The macrofaunal communities in the shallow subtidal areas for the first 3 years after the Hebei Spirit oil spill. Mar Pollut Bull 82:208–220

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sheetal S (2012) Bioremediation: A boon to hydrocarbon degradation. International Journal of Environmental Sciences 2(4):2408–2424

  • Smeltz M, Rowland-Faux L, Ghiran C, Patterson WF, Garner SB, Beers A, Mièvre Q, Kane AS, James MO (2017) A multi-year study of hepatic biomarkers in coastal fishes from the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Mar Environ Res 129:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2017.04.015

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tsutsumi H (1987) Population dynamics of Capitella capitata (Polychaeta; Capitellidae) in an organically polluted cove. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 36:139–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Umeozor OC (1995) Benthic fauna of new Calabar River. Nigerian Trop Fresh Water Biol 4:41–51

    Google Scholar 

  • UNEP (2011) Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland. UNEP, Switzerland

  • Venosa AD, Zhu X (2003) Bioremediation of crude oil contaminating marine shorelines and fresh water wetlands. Spill Sci Technol Bull 8(2):163–178

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Venosa AD and Zhu X (2005) Guidelines for the remediation of oil-contaminated wetlands, marshes, and marine shorelines. Pages 141–172 in M. Fingerman and R. Nagabhushanam (eds), Bioremediation of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Erifield, NH: Science Publishers

  • Venturini V, Islam S, Rodriguez L (2008) Estimation of evaporative fraction and evapotranspiration from MODIS products using a complementary based model. Remote Sens Environ 112(2008):132–141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vidal J (2012) Shell Nigeria oil spill ‘60 times bigger than it claimed’. The Guardian 23 April, http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/apr/23/shell-nigeria-oil-spill-bigger. Accessed 15 Mar 2013

  • Washburn T, Rhodes ACE, Montagna PA (2016) Benthic taxa as potential indicators of a deep-sea oil spill. Ecol Indic 71:587–597. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.07.045

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Washburn TW, Reuscher MG, Montagna PA, Cooksey C, Hyland JL (2017) Macrobenthic community structure in the deep Gulf of Mexico one year after the Deepwater Horizon blowout. Deep Res Part I Oceanogr Res Pap 127:21–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2017.06.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weston DP (1990) Quantitative examination of macrobenthic community changes along an organic enrichment gradient. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 61:233–244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wootton RJ (1992) Fish ecology. Blackie, New York, p 212

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Zabbey N (2011) Community ecology of intertidal macrozoobenthos at Bodo Creek, Nigeria. Doctoral dissertation, Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Unpublished (Ph.D. thesis), University of Port Harcourt Rivers State, Nigeria.

  • Zabbey N (2012) Spatial and temporal variability in interstitial water quality of soft-bottom flats at Bodo Creek, eastern lower Niger Delta, Nigeria. Trop Freshw Biol 2:83–103

    Google Scholar 

  • Zabbey N, Arimoro FO (2017) Environmental forcing of intertidal benthic macrofauna of Bodo Creek, Nigeria: preliminary index to evaluate cleanup of Ogoniland. Reg Stud Mar Sci 16:89–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2017.08.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zabbey N, Hart AI (2011) Preliminary checklist of macrozoobenthos of Bodo Creek in the Niger Delta Nigeria. Nigerian J Fisheries 8(2):271–283

    Google Scholar 

  • Zabbey N, Hart AI (2014) Spatial variability of macrozoobenthic diversity on tidal flats of the Niger Delta, Nigeria: the role of substratum. Afr J Aquat Sci 39:67–76 https://doi.org/10.2989/16085914.2013.869657.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zabbey N, Malaquais MA (2013) Epifauna diversity and ecology on intertidal flats in the tropical Niger Delta, with remarks on the gastropod species Haminoea orbignyana. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 93:249–257

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zabbey N, Uyi H (2014) Community responses of intertidal soft bottom macrozoobenthos to oil pollution in a tropical mangrove ecosystem, Niger Delta, Nigeria. Mar Pollut Bull 82:167–174 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.03.002

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zabbey N, Hart AI, Wolff WJ (2010) Population structure, biomass and production of the West African lucinid Keletistes rhizoecus (Bivalvia, Mollusca) in Sivibilagbara swamp at Bodo Creek, Niger Delta, Nigeria. Hydrobiologia 654:193–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zabbey N, Sam K, Onyebuchi AT (2017) Remediation of contaminated lands in the Niger Delta, Nigeria: prospects and challenges. Sci Total Environ 586:952–965. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.02.075

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zekri AY, Chaalal O (2005) Effect of temperature on biodegradation of crude oil. Energy Sources 27:233–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/00908310490448299

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu X, Makram ST, Lee K (2001) Guideline for the bioremediation of marine shorelines and fresh water wetlands. A report presented to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, pp 12–14

Download references

Acknowledgements

Baribefe Bornu assisted with the field sampling while Hanson Uyi helped with the identification. We are grateful to the duo for their profound assistance. Thanks to Leslie Harris (Los Angeles County Museum, USA) for the stopgap identification of the anthurid isopod and her efforts to determine the taxon-specific identity through the DNA sequencing.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Port Harcourt, PMB 5323, East-West Road, Choba, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

    Goodluck Nakaima Nwipie & Nenibarini Zabbey

  2. Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

    Aduabobo Ibitoru Hart & Philomina Ehiedu Kika

  3. Environment and Conservation Unit, Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development, Legacy Centre, Abuja Lane, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

    Nenibarini Zabbey & Kabari Sam

  4. Department of Marine Environment and Pollution Control, Faculty of Environmental Management, Nigeria Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Warri, Delta State, Nigeria

    Kabari Sam

  5. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA

    George Prpich

Authors
  1. Goodluck Nakaima Nwipie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Aduabobo Ibitoru Hart
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nenibarini Zabbey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kabari Sam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. George Prpich
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Philomina Ehiedu Kika
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kabari Sam.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 7 Checklist of infauna macrozoobenthos in the soft-bottom tidal flats of Bodo Creek (May 2006–April 2008)
Full size table
Table 8 Monthly variation in the interstitial water physico-chemical variables of Bodo Creek (September 2015–February 2016)
Full size table
Table 9 Station identity and coordinate
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nwipie, G.N., Hart, A.I., Zabbey, N. et al. Recovery of infauna macrobenthic invertebrates in oil-polluted tropical soft-bottom tidal flats: 7 years post spill. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 22407–22420 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05352-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05352-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation