TY - JOUR
T1 - A First Comprehensive Baseline of Hydrocarbon Pollution in Gulf of Mexico Fishes
AU - Pulster, Erin
AU - Gracia, Adolfo
AU - Armenteros, Maickel
AU - Toro-Farmer, Gerardo
AU - Snyder, Susan M.
AU - Carr, Brigid
AU - Schwaab, Madison
AU - Nicholson, Tiffany
AU - Mrowicki, Justin
AU - Murawski, Steven
PY - 2020/4/15
Y1 - 2020/4/15
N2 - Despite over seven decades of production and hundreds of oil spills per year, there were no comprehensive baselines for petroleum contamination in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) prior to this study. Subsequent to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) spill, we implemented Gulf-wide fish surveys extending over seven years (2011–2018). A total of 2,503 fishes, comprised of 91 species, were sampled from 359 locations and evaluated for biliary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations. The northern GoM had significantly higher total biliary PAH concentrations than the West Florida Shelf, and coastal regions off Mexico and Cuba. The highest concentrations of biliary PAH metabolites occurred in Yellowfin Tuna ( Thunnus albacares ), Golden Tilefish ( Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps ), and Red Drum ( Sciaenops ocellatus ). Conversely, biliary PAH concentrations were relatively low for most other species including economically important snappers and groupers. While oil contamination in most demersal species in the north central GoM declined in the first few years following DWH, more recent increases in exposure to PAHs in some species suggest a complex interaction between multiple input sources and possible re-suspension or bioturbation of oil-contaminated sediments. This study provides the most comprehensive baselines of PAH exposure in fishes ever conducted for a large marine ecosystem.
AB - Despite over seven decades of production and hundreds of oil spills per year, there were no comprehensive baselines for petroleum contamination in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) prior to this study. Subsequent to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) spill, we implemented Gulf-wide fish surveys extending over seven years (2011–2018). A total of 2,503 fishes, comprised of 91 species, were sampled from 359 locations and evaluated for biliary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations. The northern GoM had significantly higher total biliary PAH concentrations than the West Florida Shelf, and coastal regions off Mexico and Cuba. The highest concentrations of biliary PAH metabolites occurred in Yellowfin Tuna ( Thunnus albacares ), Golden Tilefish ( Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps ), and Red Drum ( Sciaenops ocellatus ). Conversely, biliary PAH concentrations were relatively low for most other species including economically important snappers and groupers. While oil contamination in most demersal species in the north central GoM declined in the first few years following DWH, more recent increases in exposure to PAHs in some species suggest a complex interaction between multiple input sources and possible re-suspension or bioturbation of oil-contaminated sediments. This study provides the most comprehensive baselines of PAH exposure in fishes ever conducted for a large marine ecosystem.
UR - https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cimage_pubs/17
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-020-62944-6
DO - 10.1038/s41598-020-62944-6
M3 - Article
C2 - 32296072
VL - 10
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
ER -