Effects of dispersed oil on mangroves synthesis of a seven-year study

The results of a long-term program to determine the effects of oil and dispersant on red mangroves and black mangroves are presented. Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the effects of three oils and dispersant on juvenile red mangroves and black mangroves. A field experiment was conducted to determine the effects of a crude oil and dispersant on a mature mangrove forest in Panama. Our studies indicate that exposure of mangrove seedlings to oil and dispersant in the laboratory resulted in changes of growth, respiration, and transpiration, and led to uptake of petroleum hydrocarbons. Exposure of a mature red mangrove forest to oil and dispersant resulted in many of the same effects observed in the laboratory and at other oil spill sites. These effects were greatly reduced at the site treated with oil and dispersant when compared to the site treated with whole oil.