BOOK REVIEWS/COMPTES RENDUS
Book review editor: heavy metals present a credible set of models relating con-
David P. Scott
Department of Fisheriesand Oceans
J. Fish. Res. Bd. Can. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by Depository Services Program on 05/17/13
FreshwaterInstitute
50I U niv ersity Cr escent
Winnipeg,Man. R3T 2N6
Marine Pollutant Transfer. Edited by H. L. lVindom and
R. A. Duce. D. C, Heath & Co., (Lexington Books), Lexing-
ton, Mass. & Toronto. 1976. vii | 391 p. $20.95.
This text is a summary of major findings lesulting from
the Pollutant Transport Program which was sponsored by
the National Science Foundation, Office for the Interna-
tional Decade of Ocean Exploration (NSF/IDOE). A NSF
sponsoredworkshop on marine pollutants at the Skidaway
Institute of Oceanography,Savannah,Georgia in January
1976 provided a focus for discussionof the presentstate of
knowledge and future researchrequirementswith regard to
marine pollutant transfer and these deliberations and re-
ports formed the basis of this text. The 15 chapters are
divided into major sectionsdealing with heavy metal and
organic contaminantsprefaced by a conciseintroduction to
For personal use only.
the major processesinvolved in pollutant transfer in the
marine environment.
Oceanic waters interface with five major compartments,
namely rivers, atmosphere, biosphere, suspended par-
ticulates,and sedimentscollectivelyforming the maline eco-
system.In the introductory chapter each interface is briefly
defined and the major physical-chemical factors par-
ticipating in the exchange process presented and current
research and future paths of endeavor assessed. From the
discussion it would appear that answers to the specific
scientificquestionsmay be readily achievedthrough a con-
certed multidisciplinary eftort.
This impressionis not reinforcedin the followins chaoters
which summarizethe resultsof specificresearchptog*rn..
It is here that the magnitude of the problems inherent in
investigations of this kind are realized..The water volume
of the oceans total approximately 1.35 billion cubic
kilometres with a surface area of 362 million square
kilometres. The incredible dilution power exercisedby this
volume may be exemplified by consideration of the
anthropogenicinput of lead. Of the annual global produc-
tion of refined lead approximately l0% or 3 X 105 tonnes
enter the oceans. Studies of the flux rates of lead in the
biosphere indicate that natural reservoirs of lead have been
overwhelmedresultingin a 20-fold increasein the mean lead
concentration in the biosphere.After decadesof lead con-
tamination, however, the mean oceanic concentration of
this heavy metal is only 10-" g/L and this amount is sub-
divided into severalchemical states.Under conditions such
as these, sample concentration is a constant problem and
specializedproceduresare required to raise the concentra-
tion of some contaminants above the limits of analytical
detection.Added to thesetechnical difficulties are questions
of the relative input of the contaminantsfrom anthropogenic
sources versus natural sources such as erosion and volcanic
activity.
In view of these inherent problems the six chapters on
107
taminant transfer among the various oceaniccompartments.
By necessitymuch of the work has been confinedto coastal
areas although the need for additional work on the open
oceans is clearly identified. Greater emphasisis placed on
metals arising from industrial and urban activities such as
lead, cadmium and mercury although many of the argu-
ments apply to generalized questions of heavy metal
transport.
An estimated 10u to 10" tonnes of petroleum enter the
marine ecosystem annually with major anthropogenic
sourcessuch as offshore oil and gas exploration and pto-
duction, shippingactivity and land-basedindustrial activities
accountingfor the great majority of this input. Surprisingly
little is known about the fluxes of petroleum-derivedcon-
taminants within the marine ecosystemalthough several
recent studies are discussedin four chapters of this text.
The complex and variable mixture of hydrocarbon con-
stituentscan be roughly segregatedin low molecular weight
residues of N ranging from 6 to 20 and the so called
"parliculate tar" components (N of 2l-40) ' Clearly the
physical and chemicai properties such as water solubility,
volatility and stability of each class of compounds have a
major effect on their exchangeprocessesacrossthe six inter-
faces identified in the marine environment. Pelagic petro-
leum appearsto change radically in chemical composition
through the action of many processesincluding evaporation,
solubilization, photo-oxidation, physical disintegration as
well as biological activity although theseprocessesmay act
sequentially rather than simultaneously.The presenceof
high concentrationsof biogenic hydrocarbons complicates
the identification of petroleum-derived organic especially
with respectto decompositionproducts.Although petroleum
pollution is increasinglyevident in the marine environment
it is clear that a major scientific effort will be required to
provide an adequate model of the transfer of these
contaminants.
The final four chapters deal with synthetic halogenated
hydrocarbons,predominantly PCBs, DDT, and their deriva-
tives. An impressive overview of the distribution of these
materials in the atmosphere,oceans, polar ice caps and
biota from diverse areasof the globe is presentedalthough
the data are scattered in numerous tables. Atmospheric
transport appearsto be a prime vehicle for global dispersal
of these contaminantsalthough 5000 tonnes of PCBs were
introduced directly into North American rivers and coastal
waters in 1970.At the oceanbiosphereinterfacethe massive
dilution power of the oceans is partially offset by bioac-
cumulation factors as high as 10u to 10u in cerlain marine
biota. Tissue levels of specific halocarbons sufficient to
produce toxic eflects have been recorded in marine biota,
especiallybirds, for a variety of geographicareas.Although
somedata are availablefor a few specifichalogenatedhydro-
carbons, sufficient information on the interface flux rates
and rates of removal from the biologically active regions
of the maxine ecosystemdoes not exist to assessthe long-
term impact of thesecontaminants.Fortunately recent con-
trols on the manufacture and use of some of the more toxic
and persistent materials have resulted in a major decrease
in their rate of input to the oceans.
 108 J. FISH, RES. BOARD CAN,, VOL, 36, 1979

This volume is of some value as a source of reference
information on marine contaminantsand as a summary of
recent thinking on mechanismsof pollutant transfer in the
marine environment. Perhaps of equal value, however, is
the appreciationof the enonnous complexity the studiesre-
quired to achievean understandingof the intelactionsamong
the numerouscompartmentsof the marine environment and
J. Fish. Res. Bd. Can. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by Depository Services Program on 05/17/13
The book is completedby severalbrief but sound, highly
pertinent chapterson Environmental Contaminants,Dieiary
Deficiency Diseases,Vaccines and DiseaseResistance,Dij-
easeProblems Created by Introduced Speciesand three ap-
pendicesof General References,DiseaJeResearchGroups,
ind a list of ChemotherapeuticAgents. The chaptersreflici
the editor's broad interest and inowledg" uni hi.

anthropogenicinputs of a wide variety of contaminants. monsenseapproach in treating diseaseas a complex situa- "o--
tion integrating the host, the diseaseagent, the environment,
M. A. Grr.s and husbandry.
Department ol Fisheriesand Oceans The book has beenvery well planned,a fact that accounts
FreshwaterInstitute for much of the successin making it both practical and
501 U niversityCrescent useful to the culturist and the diagnostician.The many cita-
Winnipeg,Man. R3T 2N6 tions also make it a very handy referenceand guide to the
( R 1 7 9 ) literature in the general disease field. As the editor points
out, a major problem in producing a book such as this is to
reduce the vast and unwieldy literature to manageable pro-
Disease Diaglosis and Control in North American Marine portions, a feat that has been accomplished with consider-
Aquaculture. Developments in Aquaculture and Fisheries able skill.
Science,6. EdIted by CarI l. Sindermann.Elsevier Scientific J.lvrs E. Srtwenr
Publishing Co., New York and Amsterdam. 1977. xii t Dep(trlmentol Fisheriesand Oceans
320 p. $39.9s. Halifax Laboratory
P.O.Box 550
This book is a valuable and comprehensiveaddition to Halifax, N.S. B3J 257
the field of diagnosis and control of marine aquatic animal (R196)
diseases,major obstaclesto successin intensiveculture. A1-
though it is written primarily to aid marine culturists ex-
For personal use only.

periencingdiseaseproblems in North America, the coverage

is broader than the title implies. It includes, for example, Introductory Dynamic Oceanography.Stephen Pond and
descriptionsof diseasesof freshwatel shrimps, certain dis- GeorgeL. Pickard. Pergamon Press,Oxford, England. 1978.
easesthat occur outside North America, and the disease 241 p. $16.50flexicover,$33.00hardcover.
distribution reportedon a worldwide basis.
The first two short chaptersintroduce the general subject To one whose copy of Pickard's Descriptive Physical
of disease,stressingthe need to avoid an overly simplistic Oceanographyis almost always out on loan to an interested
approach. The critical requirement for correct diagnosisis lay person, student, or new employee,the companion vo1-
coupled with the reminder that diseaseproblems are often ume on Dynamic Oceanographyhas been long awaited. In
the products of poor husbandry and not just the result of this volume, the authors have aimed to provide a readership
invasionsby specificpathogens. who are not mathematiciansor physicists,an introduction
The major porlion of the book is written in a highly to dynamic oceanographypresenting,deriving, and explain-
standardizedhandbook format in which separatechapters ing the various mathematical equations with diagrams,
are devoted to Clustacean Diseases,Molluscan Diseases, finite difference arguments, and physical descriptions.
Fish Diseases,and Marine Turlle Diseases;each chapter Topics covered include all those of classical dynamic
is then divided into major sectionsrelating to the difierent oceanographyplus a few extra. Beginningfirst with a chapter
animals in the class. A short chaoter introduction is fo1- dealing with the physical propertiesof seawater,the authors
lowed uniformly by a concise synopsisof the section ma- move on to chapters concerning the forces acting on and
terial to be covered.In the individual sections,e.g. Shrimp in the water column. conservation of mass and volume,
Diseases,each disease is treated separately in a concise stability and mixing, equationsof motion, nonlinear effects,
fashion under the headings of Common Name, Species and the concept of making approximations to equations
Affected, Gross Signs, Cause, Method of Diagnosis, Life using scaling arguments,geostrophiccurrents, wind-driven
History (Biology and Epizootiology), Effect on Host, Pre- circulation models,thermohalinecirculation models,numer-
ventive Measures,Known Geographic Distribution, and a ical models. waves, and tides. The material in the chapters
list of Key References.Wherever possible, relevant and on wind-driven circulation, thermohaline circulation, and
good photographs are included to illustrate the salient fea- numerical models are presentedfrom an historical perspec-
tures of the diseaseunder discussion.Approximately 70 tive showing how the ideas developed, explaining from a
separatediseases,covering the speciesmost frequently cul- physical point of view what was consideredin each model,
tured in North America, are accorded this treatment; most what was not considered,and most importantly how, be-
are understood sufficiently to permit detailed characteriza- cause of the approximationsmade, the model's predictions
tions. A few others for which definite etiologies are lacking might be expected to be different from the real ocean. A
are described as syndromes under general names, e.g. particular strengthof this text is its delineationof the range
Cramped Tails of Shrimps. A1l of the diseasedescriptions of application of many dynamical models and techniques,
have been written by scientistsactively engagedin studying thus giving to a beginning student in the field a view of the
the particular diseaseor are practitionersin the area of in- frontiers of the field and a discussionof the difficulties in-
terest.Thus, the work is reliable and authoritative and gives volved in moving beyondthosefrontiers.
the culturist straight-forward and practical measures to re- In addition to these chapters, the authors have provided
duce the impact of or eliminate the problem. a stimulating introduction which outlines some of the many