OIL POLLUTION AND TROPICAL LITTORAL

COMMUNITIES: BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF THE

1975 FLORIDA KEYS OIL SPILL
Elaine I. Chan
Center for Experiment Design and Data Analysis
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Environmental Data Service
Washington, D.C. 20235

ABSTRACT

intertidal organisms, were observed in oil-covered substrates. Oil persisted

in the substrate of rocky shores and mangrove-marsh areas for at least one
year after the spill.

This study reports biological effects of the July 1975 oil spill in the Florida
Keys for a one-year period. Floating seagrass served as a natural sorbent
for oil and stranded in the intertidal zone. A soluble component of oil, or
possibly an organic cleaning solvent, leaching from this debris, was probably responsible for a mass mortality of subtidal echinoderms on the rocky
platform. Several crab species were eliminated from the rocky shores,
mangrove fringes, and Batis marsh communities for several months. Subtidal pearl oysters (Pine ta da radiatajfrom the grass flat community suffered
extensive mortalities, also attributable to a soluble component of oil. Red
mangrove (Rhizophora mangle ) seedling s on thefringe and in the mangrove
swamp, sustaining greater than 50% oiling of their leaves, were killed.
Dwarf black mangroves (Avicennia nitida) with greater than 50% oiling of
pneumatophores also died, as did some where the substrate remained oiled
one year later. Elevated temperatures, exceeding lethal limits for many

INTRODUCTION
On July 18, 1975, approximately 26 miles SSW of the Marquesas Keys,
Florida, a tanker discharged 1,500 to 3,000 bbl of an emulsion of crude oil
and water into the western edge of the Florida Current. Prevailing easterly
winds drove the oil ashore along a 30 mi stretch of the Florida Keys from
Boca Chica to Little Pine Key, as shown in Figure 1.
Little has been published on the effects of oil spills in tropical regions. 6,9 '
i6. is Q n e Qf m e objectives of this study was to provide information on the
extent of damage to be expected from oiling of the several types of habitats

STATIONS:
ROCKY INTERTIDAL
MANGROVE FRINGE
SANDY JNTERTIOAL
MANGROVE SWAMP
Botii morth

OILED

CONTROL1

1
3

2
4

Figure 1. Chart of the lower Florida Keys indicating extent of stranding of oil and station locations

539

540

1977 OIL SPILL CONFERENCE

found in the tropical West Indian environment. This study commenced as a

pragmatic overview, visiting oiled sites as often as possible and making
early decisions on impacted species by comparison with unoiled sites.
Subsequently, a smaller number of representative stations were selected for
long-term studies. These sites were monitored for one year after the oil came
ashore, after which some had returned to their pre-spill state. This state of
moderate oiling is maintained by the continual input of tar balls from
discharges of bilge and tanker washings. 7 ' 8 Oil persisted in several areas for
at least a year, and a significant amount of permanent damage was sustained.
No pre-spill "baseline" was available; thus this study had to begin after
the oil came ashore, and subsequent conditions at these sites were compared
to observations made at nearby, biologically similar locations. The first few
weeks involved surveying gross effects of the oil. Much of the recovery
analysis is based upon these initial observations. Effects are discussed by
habitat, beginning with that in which short-term effects were greatest, the
rocky intertidal zone, followed, in order of decreasing impact, by mangrove
fringe, grass flats, sandy intertidal, mangrove swamp-Batis marsh, and
finally the coral reef community.

Rocky intertidal
Two oiled stations on Boca Chica Key (shown on Figure 1) were selected
for monitoring effects of oil in the rocky littoral habitat. Five other oiled
locations were periodically checked to confirm observations made at the two
Boca Chica Key sites whenever a change was observed at the two primary
sites. Like changes observed at the irregularly visited sites then led to
examinations of biologically similar, but unoiled, sites.
One rocky intertidal site (Rock Point) was characterized by a welldeveloped limestone platform extending seaward for 35 m. The surface of
the rocky ledge was pitted by shallow tidepools. The other oiled rocky
habitat on Boca Chica Key (Pelican Rock) had a platform extending 16 m
seaward. The rocky platform face was eroded and undercut up to 30 cm in
places, and was completely exposed at the lowest spring tides. High tides
covered the entire rocky platform to the base of a landward bluff. Pelican
Rock was the most heavily oiled area on Boca Chica, and most of the rocky
littoral zone observations were made at this location. The unoiled station on
Big Pine Key had a wide rocky platform extending 30 m seaward. It was
physically and biologically similar to the oiled stations.

Distribution of oil on the rocky platform

At noon on the ninth day after the spill, air temperatures reached a
maximum of 32C (90F). The odor of oil was overwhelming along the Boca
Chica Key beach road. The tide was ebbing and piles of oiled sea grass
flotsam {Thalassia, Syringodium and Diplanthera), 1-2 m wide and as
much as 0.4 m deep, were stranded along the entire rocky shore. The
intertidal area at Pelican Rock was severely oiled, as oil leached from the
stranded debris. Pools of oil 5 cm deep formed along the rocks, and oil was
carried seaward by the tide. Oily debris that was temporarily retained in
mangrove areas supplied a continuous source of pollution to the rocky
habitat for at least a month after the spill. Immediate post-spill air temperatures averaged 31C (88F), and the temperatures of oiled grass and rocky
substrate reached 40C ( 104F) and 50C ( 112F), respectively, maximizing
the spreading of the oil. Such temperatures exceed upper lethal limits for
most intertidal animals.1, ! l Oiled grass persisted in the intertidal zone for at
least a month longer than clean sea grass, which under normal conditions
breaks down in 3 weeks. Fauna normally associated with stranded grass,
amphipods (i.e., Orchestia sp.) and small crabs, were not observed in the
oiled grass.

Biological effects of oil on the rocky platform

Pachygrapsus, Cyclograpsus, and Leptodius, observed in the heavily
oiled areas shortly after the spill, suffered a marked decline in abundance for
a period of several months, reappearing as the oil hardened. Gastropods
{Nerita sp.) decreased slightly in abundance, and their empty shells were
found in the rocky zone. Most of the oiled nerids survived and growth
continued, evidenced by new shell growth beyond oil-stained shell.
The relationship between oil and the presence of the most abundant fauna
was observed on July 24 at low tide. Gastropods, Cerithium variabile,

Batillaria minima, and Nerita sp. were active in spite of the oily substrate.
Small crabs, Pachygrapsus transversus and Cyclograpsus integer, were
moving back and forth through the oil-water interface of shallow tide pools,
and Leptodius agassizii were found under loose rocks on the upper platform.
No floating oil was observed in tidepools on the seaward half of the platform.
Hermit crabs (Clibinarius tricolor) were actively crawling on a thick
rhodophycean turf of Laurencia papulosa, Bostrychia tenella and
Ceramium sp. Gastropods (Thais sp.), hermit crabs (Calcinus tibicen), and
false limpets (Siphonaria alternata) were also present. Boring sea urchins,
Echinometra lucunter, were abundant in tidepool crevices, under loose
rocks, and on the platform face. Brittle stars, Ophiothrix oestedii and
Ophiocoma echinata, and small sea cucumbers, Holothuria floridana were
found under loose rocks. These observations concur with normal distributions as noted by other investigators.19, 20, 23
Early August observations indicated that sea urchins, holothurians, and
ophiuroids were missing from the tidepools, the platform face, and the
immediate subtidal region (15m seaward of the high tide mark). These
species are not capable of moving away from unfavorable conditions. Three
weeks after the spill, many tests of recently killed Echinometra of all sizes
were found at the strand line. Mass mortality of intertidal organisms in the
tropics is often attributed to exposure to midday heat at low water. *l Tides in
August were higher than average, and as a result Echinometra was submerged even deeper, precluding the possibility of desiccation or physical
coating by oil. Echinoderms, though, are notoriously sensitive to any reduction in water quality.14 The oil spilled was a highly-emulsified waxy
crude residue,13 not generally considered to be highly toxic. Other investigators are certain that a detergent or solvent was contained in the emulsion.4, 13 Oil emulsifiers are known to be toxic to marine fauna,21, 22
and it is not unreasonable to suggest that the surfactant was responsible for
the echinoderm mortality.
Blue-green filamentous algae repopulated oiled rocky areas after the spill.
Rapid algal growth occurred two months after the spill in areas of the oiled
habitat where grazing gastropod abundance was low. False limpets,
Siphonaria alternata, and chitons, Acanthopleura sp. and Isochiton sp.
were apparently not affected by the spill. After six months, a major recruitment of young limpets was observed at both control and affected sites.
Despite the signs of recovery of the rocky habitats six months post-spill,
after one year oil still persisted under rocks and the biota had not repopulated
the substrate beneath such rocks. Populations of amphipods and shore crabs
had increased over January 1976 levels by an order of magnitude in July
1976. Fifteen species of fish were observed in shallow water in July 1976
where none were found immediately after the spill.

Mangrove fringe
Two oiled sites and one control were chosen for regular surveys of the
mangrove fringe. Observations were confirmed at additional similar sites.
The mangrove fringe habitat consisted of a dense stand of red mangrove
(Rhizophora mangle), primarily mature trees with well-developed prop
roots on a peat substrate with an overlying mud layer, with mature black
mangroves (Avicennia nitida) located landward of the fringing reds. Rhizophora propagules were nestled among prop roots of the larger trees. Significant effects were observed in the mangrove habitat. Mobile species,
notable Uca sp., emigrated from oiled to clean substrates when flood tides
introduced liquid oil into their burrow. Melampus coffeus, a terrestrial
gastropod, normally ascends mangrove prop roots and propagule stems as
the tide rises and descends to the substrate to feed on detrital material at low
tide. Where mangroves were heavily coated with oil, Melampus did not
cross the oil to feed at low tide until the oil became tacky (about four weeks).
This behavioral abberation resulted in eventual death. The Bostrychietum
algal community, found on stems and prop roots of Rhizophora, was decimated on heavily-coated roots. Few mangrove oysters, Crassostrea virginica, were coated or killed by the oil. Flat oysters, Isognomen alatas,
suffered some mortality in cases of heavy physical coating.
The most serious effect, which may affect the eventual survival of the
mangrove habitat, was the coating of Rhizophora propagules and prop roots.
Propagules with more than 50% oil coverage were dead within two months.
Even thin coatings of crude oil on propagule stems caused chemical burn
scars, a blackening and shriveling of tissue. Oiled Rhizophora seeds, placed
in fresh water, exhibited a 30% decrease in germination relative to unoiled
seeds. No effects were observed in mature Rhizophora where oil partially
coated prop roots. Oiling of less than 50% o Avicennia pneumatophores did

OIL SPILL BEHAVIOR AND EFFECTS

not appear to affect the trees, but after a year adult dwarf mangroves that had
been oiled less than 509c, where the surrounding substrate remained oiled,
died.

Sea grass flats

Grass flats cover much of the shallow sub-tidal reef flat adjacent to the
Florida Keys, as well as portions of the sub-tidal marshes. No oiling of
attached Thalassia, Diplanthera or Syringodium was observed subsequent
to the spill. However, floating grass blades, part of a vital detrital cycle,
picked up oil and carried it onto the beach.
At both the rocky and sandy intertidal stations on August 24 and 31, 1975,
an unusual abundance of Pinctada radiata (pearl oyster) shells with both
valves intact were found along the strand line. These bivalves are generally
found subtidally, attached by byssal threads to one another and to the base or
rhizomes of the sea grass. Rough weather will occasionally dislodge clusters
of these oysters, depositing them in the upper intertidal zone where they die.
In such instances, their shells gape open and the flesh dries up in the shell.
Examination of the beached Pinctada on August 24 and 31 revealed that the
shells were empty. Furthermore, the shells were found singly, not in clusters. The byssal threads which hold the live bivalves to the substrate are
attached to their flesh. The most likely explanation for finding the shells
without the animals is that the animals died in the water. Decomposition or
prdation of flesh would have severed the byssal threads permitting intact
shells to be washed ashore. Above-average wind velocities, capable of
causing vertical mixing in the nearshore ara, were recorded for several days
before the observations of the empty shells were made. Considering the
singular occurrence of a vast number of empty Pinctada shells stranded in
the littoral zone four or five weeks after the spill, it is reasonable to attribute
the mass mortality of these subtidal organisms to the oil spill.

Sandy intertidal
Three stations were established following the spill, two oiled and one
control (see Figure 1). The oiled beach on Boca Chica Key was sheltered
from wave action by Thalassia and Syringodium grass beds less than 5 m
seaward, and beyond that by the broad reef flat and the coral reef 5 mi
offshore. Slicks swept by tidal flushing from the Atlantic through broad
channels between the keys were subsequently driven ashore by easterly
winds. The oiled beach on No Name Key was not cleaned. The control
beach, located on Bahia Honda Key, has a southern exposure to the Atlantic
Ocean and lacked the wave protection of the Boca Chica beach.
Movement of oil in the sandy intertidal zone. The Boca Chica beach
had a layer of heavily oiled sea grass, up to 30 cm deep, covering the upper
littoral region on July 27. Some of this debris was mechanically removed
from the site during cleanup. For one week after the oil reached the shore,
high tide occurred in the morning, exposing the stranded debris to air
temperatures up to 32C (90F), and to full sun for most of the day. Oil
leaching from the debris permeated the sandy substrate across the beach to a
depth of 10 cm. The beach on No Name Key was lightly oiled by oil flushing
from a mangrove fringe to the south. The oil film did not penetrate the
fine-to-medium sand when the tide ebbed. Minimal wave action deposited
lumps of well-weathered oil (tar balls) and a small quantity of oiled weed at
the strand line. The control beach on Bahia Honda Key had a steeper profile
and a looser, more homogeneous mixture of fine-to-medium grain carbonate
sand than did the oiled beaches. Scattered tar balls washed ashore regularly
on the control beach, but this is normal for the Keys.7' 8
Visits to the oiled Boca Chica beach for six weeks following the spill
revealed that oil on sheltered beaches formed a hard, tarry layer of sand and
waxy residue over the oiled sand. Oil beneath this crust remained fluid.
Beach erosion during August and September storms broke up the crust, and
relatively warm temperatures through mid-November, over 27C (80F),
promoted eventual degradation of the oil. Six months after the spill only
small patches of the tarry layer remained, and no evidence of oil was found
after a year.
Biological effects of oil in the sandy intertidal zone. No organisms were
found in the oiled grass stranded at the Boca Chica site, nor were there any
organisms in the oil-soaked sand. Oiled debris at Boca Chica was greatly
reduced by September. Amphipods, possibly Orchestia sp. and a few shore
crabs, Pachygrapsus transversus and Cyclograpsus integer, were found

541

associated with clean sea grass in the upper littoral area by then. After six
months, no trace of oily debris was observed, and the abundance of amphipods and crabs resembled that of the control area. The lightly-oiled beach
station on No Name Key showed no trace of fluid oil a month after the spill.
Tar ball deposition on this beach was comparable to that of the Bahia Honda
control throughout the monitoring period.

Mangrove swampBatis marsh

Two stationsone oiled and one controlwere selected for observations
in the mangrove swamp-Batis marsh community on Boca Chica Key (see
Figure 1 ). An area on the western edge of the marsh was heavily oiled when
prevailing ESE winds and above-normal tides left oil stranded on the flora
and substrate, as well as floating on tidepools. A control site of similar
contours with similar flora and fauna was selected on the eastern side of the
marsh.
The primary source of tidal flushing for the oiled swamp-marsh site is a
group of three concrete culverts passing under the beach road from the
Atlantic Ocean. For at least 3 weeks after the spill, the turbulent flow of
warm water through these restricted openings suspended fine droplets of
emulsified oil in the water column. Water temperatures at midday reached
30C (86F) near the openings and air temperatures exceeded 32C (90F).
Benthic invertebrates in the high-flow area appeared unaffected. Live
Limulus, horseshoe crab; Paguristes sp., hermit crabs; Callinectes sapidus,
blue crab; and the gastropod Batillaria minima were found in the oily water.
Immediately following the spill, small fish, Fundulus sp., Eucinostimus
gula, juvenile Haemulon sp. (grunt), and Lutjanus sp. (snapper) were
observed swimming in flood and ebb currents. Dead specimens of Fundulus
sp., Eucinostimus gula, Lutjanus sp., and Sphyraena barracuda were
strewn along the loose rock and muddy fringe of the marsh at low tide shortly
after the oil came ashore. Other fish exhibiting symptoms of distress were
found floating in the flooded marsh. Fish localized in the current near the
culverts were exposed to highly emulsified oil in the water column which
may have eroded their gills, suffocating them.
Oil was deposited over a large area of supralittoral marsh, and intensive
cleanup efforts complicated the task of assessing effects of the oil. Shallow
pools of sun-warmed oil floated on the mud substrate and coated red
mangrove propagules bordering the permanently flooded portion of the
marsh. The pneumatophores of dwarf black mangroves were thickly coated
with warm oil by tidal action. Water temperatures of 42C (108F) were
recorded in pockets of water and oil. At midday, the temperature of oilcoated mud reached 58C (136F), compared to 40C (104F) in control
areas.
No epi-fauna survived in heavily oiled marsh areas. Lethal temperatures
and extensive coating of the substrate eliminated fiddler crabs, Uca sp. A
few heavily-oiled dead Uca were observed several days after inundation of
the substrate. Six months after the spill, Uca had repopulated the affected
area, and Fundulus and wading birds were abundant. The blue-green algal
mat, typifying the supralittoral marsh substrate10 in control areas, covered
the surface mud in oiled regions except where tarry residues remained. The
effects on the red and black mangroves in the swamp-marsh area were the
same as those described above.
The fleshy-leaved halophytes Batis martima, Salicornia sp., and
Sesuvium portulacastrum characteristic of the Batis marsh habitat were
killed where oil coated their leaves, stems or the substrate. These observations differ from those of Baker,2 where she indicated seasonal recovery
from an oil spill in a temperate salt marsh. On lightly oiled substrates in the
Boca Chica marsh, normal growth was observed six months after the spill.
Baker3 indicated that oil caused more damage to plants when the weather
was hot and sunny. Permanent damage was evident here in instances of oiled
young and dwarf mangroves and fleshy-leaf halophytes. Monanthochloe
littoralis (salt flat grass) and Borrichia frutescens (sea daisy) were not oiled
and their growth proceeded normally.

Coral reef
Observation dives made by Florida Department of Natural Resources
personnel and Florida Reef Foundation members immediately following the
spill indicated no detectable damage to the reef environment. Subsequent
observations on August 2, 1975, November 1, 1975, and January 18, 1976
confirmed earlier reports. The coral reef areas were completely submerged at

542

1977 OIL SPILL CONFERENCE

the time of the spill and relatively calm seas minimized the possibility of
physical contact and deposition of oil on living corals.
Studies by Reimer15 suggest that although oil may not cause immediate
damage to certain coral species, it may have some physiological effects
which shorten their survival and affect their normal behavior. Mariscal and
Lenhoff12 reported abnormal contractions and mouth-opening in Pocillopora damicornis when oil floated on the surface water covering the coral.
Field experiments of Birkeland, et al.b indicate decreased growth rates in
Pontes furcata exposed to floating Bunker C oil for 2.5 hours. These
observations of sub-lethal damage should be taken into account when considering the consequences of chronic oil release in coral reef environments.

SUMMARY
1. Floating seagrass served as a natural sorbent, depositing oil in the
upper intertidal zone. High temperatures leached the oil from the debris to
the substrate and into the water.
2. Oiled seagrass persists in the intertidal region for at least a month
longer than the time required for clean seagrass to decompose, decreasing
the input of detrital matter into dependent ecosystems.
3. Shore crabs on the rocky shore and fiddler crabs in mangrove and
marsh areas suffered a marked decline for a period of several months.
4. Oiled Nerita sp. in the rocky littoral zones suffered a slight decrease
in abundance, however, growth continued in the survivors suggesting a
resistance to pollution of this type.
5. There was evidence of spill-related mortality of subtidal echinoderms
associated with the rocky zone.
6. Extensive mortality of red mangrove seedlings occurred in the mangrove fringe and within the swamp-marsh following the oiling of their stems
and more than 50% of their leaves.
7. Behavioral aberrations in Melampus coffeus within the mangrove
fringe resulted in the disruption of their normal diurnal feeding pattern for at
least four weeks, resulting in extensive mortality.
8. The mass mortality of subtidal pearl oysters was attributed to the
toxic effect of a soluble component of the oil spill.
9. Oiled grass temperatures reached 40C; rocky substrates, 50C; mud
substrates, 58C; and overlying water, 42C, exceeding lethal limits of most
intertidal organisms.
10. Dwarf black mangroves in the mangrove swamp-Batis marsh with
greater than 50% oil coverage of the pneumatophore area shed their leaves
and died. Some died where the surrounding substrate remained oiled one
year later.
11. Fleshy-leaved halophytes of the marsh community with heavily oiled
leaves, stems, or substrate suffered extensive mortalities.

REFERENCES
1. Albertson, H. D, 1973. A Comparison of the Upper Lethal Temperatures of Animals of Fifty Common Species from Biscayne Bay. M. S.
Thesis, University of Miami. 78pp
2. Baker, J. M., 1973. The effects of a single oil spillage, in The Ecological Effects of O il Pollution on Littoral Communities. E. B. Co well.
Applied Science Publishers Ltd., U.K. ppl6-20
3. Baker, J. M., 1973. Seasonal effects, in The Ecological Effects of Oil
Pollution on Littoral Communities. E. B. Co well. Applied Science
Publishers Ltd., U.K. pp44-51
4. Bentz, Alan, 1975. (personal communication). U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center, Groton, Connecticut

5. Birkeland, C. E., A. A. Reimer, and J. R. Young, 1974. Effects of oil

on tropical shore natural communities in Panama. EPA Report Contract No. 14-12-874. in Effects of Crude Oil on Corals. A. A.
Reimer, 1975. Marine Pollution Bulletin. v6, pp39^43
6. Crame-Vivas, M. J., 1968. The wreck of the Ocean Eagle, Sea
Frontiers. v 15, pp224-311
7. Dennis, J. V., 1959. Oil Pollution Survey of the United States Atlantic
Coast With Special Reference to Southeast Florida Coast Conditions. A.P.I. Publication 4054. Washington, D.C.
8. Dennis, J. V., 1974. A Second Oil Pollution Survey of the Southeast
Florida Coast Conditions. A.P.I. Publication 4231. Washington,
D.C.
9. Diaz-Piferrer, M., 1962. The effects of an oil spill on the shore of
Guanica, Puerto Rico, in Proc, Fourth Meeting, Associated Island
Marine Labs. Curacao. University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez,
ppl2-13
10. Ginsburg, R. N., L. B. Isham, S. J. Bean, and J. Kuperburg, 1954.
Laminated Algal Sediments of South Florida and Their Recognition
in the Fossil Record. Unpublished final report to National Science
Foundation. Institute of Marine Science, University of Miami,
Miami, Florida. Publication No. 8034
11. Glynn, P. W., 1968. Mass mortalities of echinoids and other reef flat
organisms coincident with midday, low water exposures in Puerto
Rico. Marine Biology, vl, pp226-243
12. Mariscal, R. N., and H. M. Lenhoff, 1968. The chemical control of
feeding behavior in Cyhastrea ocellina and some other Hawaiian
corals. J. Exp. Biol. v49, pp689-699
13. Mattson, J. S., 1975. (personal communication.) Division of Chemical
Oceanography, School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, Florida
14. Nelson-Smith, A., 1973. Oil Pollution and Marine Ecology. Plenum
Press, New York. 260pp
15. Reimer, A. A., 1975. Effects of crude oil on corals. Marine Pollution
Bulletin. v6, pp39-43
16. Rutzler, K. and W. Sterrer, 1970. Oil pollution damage observed in
tropical communities along the Atlantic seaboard of Panama. Bioscience. v20, pp222-224
17. Smith, J. E., ed., 1968. Torrey Canyon Pollution and Marine Life.
Report by the Plymouth Laboratory of the Marine Biological Association of the U.K. Cambridge University Press. 196pp
18. Spooner,M.F. andG. M. Spooner, 1968. The Problem of Oil Spills at
Sea, Illustrated by the Stranding of the General Colocotronis.
Marine Biological Association, Plymouth, England
19. Stephenson, T. A. and A. Stephenson, 1950. Life between tide-marks
in North America. I. the Florida Keys. Journal of Ecology. v38,
pp534-^02
20. Voss, G. L. and N. A. Voss, 1955. An ecological survey of Soldier
Key, Biscayne Bay, Florida. Bull. Mar. Sei. v5, pp203-229
21. Wilson, D. P., 1968. Long-term effects of low concentrations of an oil
spill remover (detergent); studies with the larvae of Sabellaria
spinulosa. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the U.K.
v48, ppl77-182
22. Wilson, K. W., 1970. The toxicity of oil-spill dispersants to the embryos and larvae of some marine fish. FAO Tech. Conf. Mar.
Pollut., Rome, Italy. Paper E-45
23. Zischke, J. A., 1975. An ecological guide to the shallow-water marine
communities of Pigeon Key, Florida, in Field Guide to Some Carbonate Rock Environments: Florida Keys and Western Bahamas.
H. G. Mutter (ed.). Contribution No. 40. Department of Earth Sciences, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, New Jersey.
pp22-22H