The accumulation, elimination characteristics, and toxic effects of intertidal sediment crude oil contamination in Sinonvacula constricta

Marine oil spills lead to intertidal sediment pollution, causing benthic bioaccumulation and toxicity. However, relatively few studies have been conducted on the effects of crude oil sediment pollution on benthos. In this study, Sinonovacula constricta was used as the research object in a sediment environment to study the accumulation and elimination effects of S. constricta on long-term exposure to crude oil pollution as well as the toxicity effects at the biochemical and tissue levels through laboratory exposure tests. The objective of this study was to provide theoretical support for monitoring the biological toxicity of intertidal crude oil pollution. The results showed that S. constricta accumulated petroleum hydrocarbons in the sediment, which were positively correlated with pollution concentration and time. The fitting results of the two-compartment kinetic model were good and could be applied to the accumulation and elimination of sediment crude oil pollution. The activity of antioxidant enzymes and the content of malondialdehyde in the gills were mainly induced, and there was a dose- and time-dependent relationship. Crude oil pollution can cause digestive tube ablation, lumen swelling, and blood cell infiltration in the viscera of S. constricta. S. constricta can be used as an indicator organism for oil pollution in the intertidal zone, and its gills and visceral mass can be used as target tissues.