Peer-reviewed Publications that Address Wetlands
and Oil Spills:
Since the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, I have published a mini-review and some of the results based on experiments to compare the toxicity of traditional petroleum-based surfactants to that of microbially-produced surfactants and experiments to understand how water salinity affects the biodegradation of toxins in crude oil, oil spill dispersants, and dispersed oil.
Marti, M.E., W.J. Colonna, P. Patra, H. Zhang, C. Green, G. Reznik, M. Pynn, K. Jarrell, J.A. Nyman, P.Somasundaran, C.E. Glatz, and B.P. Lamsal. 2014. Production and characterization of microbial surfactants for potential use in oil-spill remediation. Enzyme and Microbial Technology 55:31-39.
Kuhl, A.J., J.A. Nyman, M.D. Kaller, and C.C. Green. 2013. Dispersant and salinity effects on weathering
and acute toxicity of South Louisiana Crude oil. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
32:2611-2620.
One experiment used soils from two types of fresh marshes (Sagittaria lancifolia and
Panicum hemitomon), two types of oil (South Louisiana Crude and diesel), three types
of animals (fish, aquatic crustacean, and benthic invertebrate), and four types of
response options (no response, fertilizer, the dispersant COREXIT 9500, and the cleaner
COREXIT 9580). This experiment resulted in the following three publications:
Nyman, J.A., P.L. Klerks, and S. Bhattacharyya. 2007. Effects of chemical additives on hydrocarbon disappearance and biodegradation in freshwater microcosms. Environmental Pollution 149:227-238. [PDF]
Klerks, P.L., J.A. Nyman, and S. Bhattacharyya. 2004. Relationship between hydrocarbon measurements and toxicity to a chirinomid, fish larvae, and daphnid for oils and oil spill chemical treatments in laboratory freshwater marsh microcosms. Environmental Pollution 129:345-353. [PDF]
Bhattacharyya, S., P.L. Klerks, and J.A. Nyman. 2003. Toxicity to freshwater organisms from oils and oil spill chemical treatments in laboratory microcosms. Environmental Pollution 122:205-215. [PDF]
This paper was based on a literature review of available information at the time.
Pezeshki, S.R., M.W. Hester, Q. Lin, and J.A. Nyman. 2000. The effects of oil spill and clean-up on dominant US Gulf Coast marsh macrophytes: a review. Environmental Pollution 108:129-139. [PDF]
One experiment used soils from two types of fresh marshes (Sagittaria lancifolia and Panicum hemitomon), two types of oil (South Louisiana Crude and Arabian Crude), and four types of response options (no response, fertilizer, the dispersant COREXIT 9550, and the cleaner COREXIT 9580). This experiment resulted in one publication:
Nyman, J.A. 1999. Effects of crude oil and chemical additives on metabolic activity of mixed microbial populations in fresh marsh soils. Microbial Ecology 37:152-162. [PDF]
One experiment used plants from saline marsh (Spartina alterniflora), two types of oil (South Louisiana Crude and the fuel oil Bunker C), and two types of response options (no response and the cleaner COREXIT 9580). This experiment resulted in one publication:
Pezeshki, S.R., R.D. DeLaune, J.A. Nyman, R.R. Lessard, and G.P. Canevari. 1995. Removing oil and saving oiled marsh grass using a shoreline cleaner. Proceedings of the 1995 Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute, Washington, D.C. 1995:203-209. [PDF]
Contract Completion Reports that Address Wetlands and Oil spills:
One experiment used soils from two types of saline marshes (Spartina alterniflora and Juncus romerianus), two types of oil (South Louisiana Crude and Alaskan Crude), and four types of response options (no response, fertilizer, the dispersant COREXIT 9500, and the cleaner COREXIT 9580). I have yet to edit down the contract completion report and submit it to a peer-reviewed journal. Thus, this experiment currently is described only in the contract completion report:
Nyman, J.A. and T.E. McGinnis. 1999. Effects of crude oil and spill-response-options on microbial functions and oil disappearance in salt marsh soils: Year 2. Department of Biology, University of Southwestern Louisiana. Louisiana Applied and Educational Oil Spill Research and Development Program, OSRADP Technical Report Series 99-007. [report page]
One experiment used soils from two types of fresh marshes (Sagittaria lancifolia and Panicum hemitomon), two types of oil (South Louisiana Crude and Arabian Crude), and four types of response options (no response, fertilizer, the dispersant COREXIT 9550, and the cleaner COREXIT 9580). This experiment resulted in one of the publications above; additional data regarding chemical analyses of the remaining oil are available in the contract completion report:
Nyman, J.A., and W.H. Patrick, Jr. 1996. Effects of oil and chemical responses on fresh marsh function and oil degradation: Response implications. Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office/Office of the Governor, Louisiana Applied Oil Spill Research and Development Program, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, OSRADP Technical Report Series 95-011. [report page]