Harlequin Duck Capture and EROD Activity Data from Prince William Sound, Alaska, 2011, 2013, 2014

Publication Date

2016-12-13

Start Date

2011

End Date

2014

Last Update

2024-08-15

Esler, D., 2016, Harlequin duck capture and EROD activity data from Prince William Sound, Alaska, 2011, 2013, 2014: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7KD1W1M.

Type: Related Primary Publication

These data are part of a body of work evaluating spatial and temporal variation in hepatic cytochrome P4501A induction (measured via EROD activity) as an indicator of exposure of harlequin ducks to residual oil from the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill. The duck biomarker project is a component of the integrated Long-term Monitoring of Marine Conditions and Injured Resources and Services submitted by McCammon et al. in spring 2011 to the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustees Council (EVOSTC). Sea duck populations in Prince William Sound (PWS) were injured as a result of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, with evidence for both immediate acute mortality and longer term injury from chronic exposure to oil spilled in 1989. It appears that full recovery was still not complete as of 2011. Prior EVOSTC projects have examined continuing exposure to lingering oil as a factor constraining recovery, using biomarker assays (the cytochrome P4501A biomarker, CYP1A, to evaluate oil exposure). Harlequin ducks had continued to show elevation of CYP1A in oiled areas through 2009, suggesting exposure was still a concern. Sampling harlequin ducks has continued in order to measure exposure of these nearshore residents to lingering oil and monitor the status of their recovery as injured species, and as indicators of recovery of the overall nearshore ecosystem.

• Alaska Science Center (ASC)

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