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Updated: Jul 13, 2025

The Barnacle Balanus improvisus as a Marine Model - Culturing and Gene Expression
Published on: August 8, 2018
Tar balls as a floating substrate for long-distance species dispersal
Davy Barbosa Bérgamo1, Nykon Craveiro1, Karine Matos Magalhães2
1Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Centro de Tecnologia e Geociências (CTG), Departamento de Oceanografia (DOCEAN) - Laboratório de Bentos (LABEN), 50670-901 Recife, PE, Brazil.
Abstract:
Recent arrivals of tar balls have been observed in several tropical beaches associated with the oceanic circulation that flows to the Brazilian continental shelf. Between August and September 2022, tar balls were collected in the northeastern coast of Brazil and analyzed. Nearly 90 % of the oils were colonized by barnacles, polychaetes, decapods, and algae. Most rafting organisms were Lepas anserifera with capitulum measuring 0.32 to 22.21 mm. Based on the growth rate of barnacles and the speed of the SEC it was estimated that tar balls were floating since July and August 2022 and traveled a maximum of 1938.82 km. The organisms and tar balls' possible origin is in the international waters, near to the meso-Atlantic ridge, known for oil tanker traffic. The tar balls, in addition to the oil-related impacts, can act as a vector of long-distance species dispersion, and it needs to raise an alert, considering the possible ecological impacts.
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