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

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... Whole-sediment or unfiltered sediment elutriate (i.e., sediment supernatant) toxicity tests are commonly used to assess toxicity of oil-contaminated sediment (contaminated sediment) and bioassays have been developed to investigate the biological effects of contaminated sediments, using amphipods, copepods, echinoderms, bivalves, or fish (Brown- Peterson et al., 2014Peterson et al., , 2017Dubansky et al., 2013;Geffard et al., 2001Geffard et al., , 2007Ghirardini et al., 2005;Lotufo et al., 2016;Matthiessen et al., 1998). While many studies have investigated impacts of DWH oil exposures on fish (Brewton et al., 2013;Brown-Peterson et al., 2014Dubansky et al., 2013;Echols et al., 2015), mollusks (Carmichael et al., 2012;Finch et al., 2016;Langdon et al., 2016;Stefansson et al., 2016;Vignier et al., 2015Vignier et al., , 2016Volety et al., 2016), corals (Goodbody-Gringley et al., 2013), arthropod (Echols et al., 2015;Lotufo et al., 2016;McCall and Pennings, 2012), and zooplankton (Almeda et al., 2013), there is little information to date on the impact of oiled sediments from the DWH spill on marine species. ...
... Whole-sediment or unfiltered sediment elutriate (i.e., sediment supernatant) toxicity tests are commonly used to assess toxicity of oil-contaminated sediment (contaminated sediment) and bioassays have been developed to investigate the biological effects of contaminated sediments, using amphipods, copepods, echinoderms, bivalves, or fish (Brown- Peterson et al., 2014Peterson et al., , 2017Dubansky et al., 2013;Geffard et al., 2001Geffard et al., , 2007Ghirardini et al., 2005;Lotufo et al., 2016;Matthiessen et al., 1998). While many studies have investigated impacts of DWH oil exposures on fish (Brewton et al., 2013;Brown-Peterson et al., 2014Dubansky et al., 2013;Echols et al., 2015), mollusks (Carmichael et al., 2012;Finch et al., 2016;Langdon et al., 2016;Stefansson et al., 2016;Vignier et al., 2015Vignier et al., , 2016Volety et al., 2016), corals (Goodbody-Gringley et al., 2013), arthropod (Echols et al., 2015;Lotufo et al., 2016;McCall and Pennings, 2012), and zooplankton (Almeda et al., 2013), there is little information to date on the impact of oiled sediments from the DWH spill on marine species. Exposure to DWH-oiled sediment has been reported to alter normal embryogenesis and larval developments in fish, such as delayed hatching and reduced hatching success and growth in the Gulf killifish (Fundulus grandis, Dubansky et al., 2013) and developmental malformations in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos (Raimondo et al., 2014). ...
Article
The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil drilling rig resulted in the release of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This event coincided with the spawning season of the Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica. Although oil bound to sediments constitutes an important source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure to benthic organisms, toxicity of sediment-associated DWH oil has not been investigated in any bivalve species. Here, we evaluated the sublethal effects of acute exposure of gametes, embryos and veliger larvae of the Eastern oyster to different concentrations of unfiltered elutriates of sediment contaminated with DWH oil. Our results suggest that gametes, embryos and veliger larvae are harmed by exposure to unfiltered elutriates of contaminated sediment. Effective concentrations for fertilization inhibition were 40.6 µg tPAH50 L-1 and 173.2 µg tPAH50 L-1 for EC201h and EC501h values, respectively. Embryo exposure resulted in dose-dependent abnormalities (EC20 and EC50 values were 77.7 µg tPAH50 L-1 and 151 µg tPAH50 L-1, respectively) and reduction in shell growth (EC2024h value of 1180 µg tPAH50 L-1). Development and growth of veliger larvae were less sensitive to sediment-associated PAHs compared to embryos. Fertilization success and abnormality of larvae exposed as embryos were the most sensitive endpoints for assessing the toxicity of oil-contaminated sediment. Bulk of measured polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were sediment-bound and caused toxic effects at lower tPAH50 concentrations than high energy water accommodated fractions (HEWAF) preparations from the same DWH oil. This study suggests risk assessments would benefit from further study of suspended contaminated sediment.
... Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a minor (0.2 to 7%), yet highly toxic component of crude oil (Council, 2003), and have been previously associated with a well-documented range of both lethal and sublethal effects in fishes and the wider marine ecosystem (Beyer et al., 2016;Collier et al., 2013;Murawski et al., 2016;Pulster et al., 2020a). Effects of PAH exposure observed in fishes following the DWH incident and subsequent exposure studies included skin lesions, cardiotoxicity, reproductive impairment and mortality (Brown-Peterson et al., 2015;Hedgpeth and Griffitt, 2016;Incardona et al., 2014;Murawski et al., 2014). ...
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Ten grouper species grouper (n = 584) were collected throughout the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) from 2011 through 2017 to provide information on hepatobiliary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill. Liver and bile samples were analyzed for PAHs and their metabolites using triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC/MS/MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-F), respectively. Data were compared among species and sub-regions of the GoM to understand spatiotemporal exposure dynamics in these economically and ecologically important species. Significant differences in the composition and concentrations of PAHs were detected spatially, over time and by species. The West Florida Shelf, Cuba coast and the Yucatan Shelf had a greater proportion of the pyrogenic PAHs in their livers than the other regions likely due to non-oil industry related sources (e.g., marine vessel traffic) in the regional composition profiles. Mean liver PAH concentrations were highest in the north central region of the GoM where DWH occurred. Biliary PAH concentrations and health indicator biometrics initially decrease during the first three years following the DWH oil spill but significantly increased thereafter. Increased exposures are likely explained by the resuspension of residual DWH oil as well as continued inputs from natural (e.g., seeps) sources and other anthropogenically derived sources (e.g., riverine runoff, other oil spills, and leaking oil and gas infrastructure). The increasing trend in PAH concentrations in the bile and liver of grouper species in the north central region of the GoM post-DWH suggest continued chronic exposures, however the critical stage at which permanent, irreparable damage may occur is unknown. Long-term monitoring of PAH levels and associated fish health biomarkers is necessary to evaluate impacts of chronic exposures, particularly in regions subject to intensive oil extraction activities.
... Various effects of Deepwater Horizon oil exposure on a variety of life stages of different fish species have been well documented, and include diverse biological processes such as reproduction [3], growth [4], embryonic and larval development [5][6][7][8], cardiac function [9], oxidative stress [10], and gene and protein expression [4,7,11,12]. However, these studies investigated exposure of nonbenthic fish species to aqueous fractions of Deepwater Horizon oil, rather than to oiled sediments. ...
Article
The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill released millions of barrels of crude oil into the northern Gulf of Mexico, much of which remains associated with sediments and can have continuing impacts on biota. Juvenile southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) were exposed for 28 d in the laboratory under controlled conditions to reference and DWH oil-contaminated sediments collected from coastal Louisiana to assess the impacts on an ecologically and commercially important benthic fish. The measured PAH concentrations in the sediments ranged from 0.25 to 3,940?mg/kg tPAH50 (suite of 50 PAH analytes). Mortality increased with both concentration and duration of exposure. Exposed flounder length and weight was lower compared to controls after 28 days of exposure to the sediments with the highest PAH concentration, but condition factor was significantly higher in these fish compared to all other treatments. Histopathological analyses showed increased occurrence of gill abnormalities, including telangiectasis, epithelial proliferation, and fused lamellae in flounder exposed to sediments with the highest tPAH50 concentrations. Additionally, hepatic vascular congestion and macrovesicular vacuolation were observed in flounder exposed to the more contaminated sediments. These data suggest that chronic exposure to field collected oil-contaminated sediments results in a variety of sub-lethal impacts to a benthic fish, with implications for long-term recovery from oil spills. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
... Persistence of oil in nearshore sediments has resulted in delayed recovery of benthic marine communities (e.g., Gomez Gesteira and Dauvin, 2000;Elmgren et al., 1983) which have been considered to potentially have ecosystem-wide implications, including disruption of trophic interactions (Ballachey et al., 2014;Peterson et al., 2003). The available evidence suggests that direct contact with oil from the DWH disaster had a negative impact on wetlands (Mendelssohn et al., 2012), resident fishes (Dubansky et al., 2013;Brown-Peterson et al., 2014Raimondo et al., in press) and benthic invertebrates (La Peyre et al., 2015;Fulford et al., 2015; this study). ...
... The effects of the DWH oil spill have impacted flora and fauna at multiple biological levels, including marine mammals (Schwacke et al., 2013;Wise et al., 2014), fishes (Brewton et al., 2013;Brown-Peterson et al., 2014;Dubansky et al., 2013;Echols et al., 2010), invertebrates (Carmichael et al., 2012;Echols et al., 2010;Goodbody-Gringley et al., 2013;McCall and Pennings, 2012), and gelatinous zooplankton (Almeda et al., 2013) to microbial food webs (Ortmann et al., 2012) and salt marsh vegetation (Silliman et al., 2012). Many of these studies have focused on exposure to oil in the water column, either through collections of specimens directly from the environment or in experimental exposures to a water accommodated fraction (WAF) of oil. ...
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In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, a number of government agencies, academic institutions, consultants, and nonprofit organizations conducted lab- and field-based research to understand the toxic effects of the oil. Lab testing was performed with a variety of fish, birds, turtles, and vertebrate cell lines (as well as invertebrates); field biologists conducted observations on fish, birds, turtles, and marine mammals; and epidemiologists carried out observational studies in humans. Eight years after the spill, scientists and resource managers held a workshop to summarize the similarities and differences in the effects of DWH oil on vertebrate taxa and to identify remaining gaps in our understanding of oil toxicity in wildlife and humans, building upon the cross-taxonomic synthesis initiated during the Natural Resource Damage Assessment. Across the studies, consistency was found in the types of toxic response observed in the different organisms. Impairment of stress responses and adrenal gland function, cardiotoxicity, immune system dysfunction, disruption of blood cells and their function, effects on locomotion, and oxidative damage were observed across taxa. This consistency suggests conservation in the mechanisms of action and disease pathogenesis. From a toxicological perspective, a logical progression of impacts was noted: from molecular and cellular effects that manifest as organ dysfunction, to systemic effects that compromise fitness, growth, reproductive potential, and survival. From a clinical perspective, adverse health effects from DWH oil spill exposure formed a suite of signs/symptomatic responses that at the highest doses/concentrations resulted in multi-organ system failure.
Chapter
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