Mesocosms for Oil Spill Simulation

Enclosed experimental ecosystems (mesocosms) are important research tools for the evaluation of the fate and effects of xenobiotic chemicals (as crude oil) of parts (individuals, populations, communities) and of whole (ecosystems) simultaneously. Mesocosm experiments have played an important role over the last decade in increasing our understanding of marine ecosystems. This section provides suggestions for future applications of mesocosm researches with particular interest at application of these ''living machines'' for study of coastal and pelagic marine environments polluted from hydrocarbons. Attention should be given to the configuration of mesocosm parameters to explicitly study regional questions of ecological interest. The initial physical, chemical, and biological conditions within mesocosms should be considered as factors shaping the final results of experiments. The use of mesocosms refines the classical methods of biological risk assessment because mesocosms provide conditions for a better understanding of environmentally relevant impacts of chemicals without a direct in situ threat. Mesocosms are special ''windows'' along the spatial scale of ecosystems for examining ecological questions related to the secure. Their originality is mainly based on the combination of ecological realism, achieved by the introduction of the basic components of natural ecosystems, and that ease the access to a number of physicochemical, biological, and toxicological variables instead of parameters that can be controlled to some extent.