The fate of fossil fuel hydrocarbons in marine animals

Certain hydrocarbons present in crude oil have been detected in several marine animal species as well as algae and sediments. The importance of pollution as a source of these hydrocarbons is briefly considered, as is evidence for their biosynthesis in marine organisms. The problem of whether these compounds, particularly the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, are transferred through the marine food web is considered in the light of recent evidence for their uptake and release by various marine animals; and the question of whether they are excreted unchanged or as metabolites is discussed in the context of the many studies that have been made of their fate in mammals.