Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill On the Reproductive Biology of Spotted Seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus)

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

10-29-2014

School

Ocean Science and Engineering

Abstract

The April 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill released an estimated 4.1 million barrels of crude oil as well as 2.1 million gallons of the dispersant Corexit 9500 into the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM). The marshes and coastal shorelines along the north central GOM were impacted as crude and dispersed oil from the offshore blowout moved onshore. Although Louisiana waters received the heaviest impacts of bioavailable polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAHs) immediately after the spill, Mississippi coastal areas were also significantly impacted (Allan et al. 2012). Although the amount of measured PAHs in coastal waters in Mississippi decreased to prespill levels by August 2010, PAH levels did not return to prespill levels in Louisiana waters until March 2011 (Allan et al. 2012). Despite these impacts, juvenile fish communities in Louisiana and Mississippi seagrass meadows did not show a dramatic decline in 2010 collections compared with historical (2006–2009) collections (Fodrie and Heck 2011), suggesting fish that were spawned during the oil spill were more resilient than expected. However, sublethal effects of oil exposure on adult fishes may alter reproductive capacity, resulting in future impacts on fish populations. For instance, PAHs are known to have a deleterious effect on vitellogenesis (the production of egg-yolk proteins) in fishes, which can substantially reduce ovarian development and reproductive output (Nicholas 1999). Laboratory exposure of Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) to diesel fuel oil impaired ovarian growth and oocyte development (Thomas and Budiantara 1995), while wild-caught yellowfin sole (Limanada aspera) and Dolly Varden (Salevelinus malma) exhibited reproductive impairment for several years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill (Sol et al. 2000). Examining the reproductive biology of GOM fishes affected by the DWH oil spill is a first step in helping to determine potential long-term population impacts of the oil spill.

Publication Title

Impacts of Oil Spill Disasters on Marine Habitats and Fisheries in North America

First Page

237

Last Page

252

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