Crawling and Respiration as Indices of Sublethal Effects of Oil and a Dispersant on an Intertidal Snail <i>Littorina littorea</i>

Abstract

Crawling and respiration rates of the snail Littorina littorea are increased in the presence of Bunker C oil and decreased with brief exposure to a low toxicity dispersant (Corexit 8666) in sea water at 20 C. The addition of the dispersant to an oil:seawater mixture also decreases both crawling and respiration. Behavioral traits, such as crawling, and physiological indices, such as respiration, may be sensitive measures of sublethal effects of pollutants on organisms.