Toxicity of oil to reef-building corals : a spill response perspective Toxicity of oil to reef building corals

"Evaluation of oil toxicity in general is not a simple or easy task. What we consider as 'oil' includes qualitatively and chemically very different kinds of materials. Moreover, different species and even different life stages within the same species can react in dramatically different ways to oil exposure. Because the conditions encountered at each spill present a unique set of physical, chemical, and biological circumstances, it is a daunting undertaking to provide general oil toxicity guidance for responders. In the case of oil toxicity as it relates to corals and coral reefs, it is further complicated because there is limited information on the fundamentals of toxicity and toxicology. There is also reasonable doubt about how well information for one area or one species extends across other areas and the hundreds of species currently delineated. For spill responders and resource managers faced with making choices during oil spills in coral reef areas, the major dilemma is how to use the available science in a meaningful and appropriate fashion. That is, just because someone has studied oil and corals either in the laboratory or in the field does not necessarily mean that the results of that work will help us understand what will occur during a specific spill or cleanup"--Introduction. 2001 NOS (National Ocean Service) ORR (Office of Response and Restoration) CoRIS (Coral Reef Information System) Library Public Domain 1936