388
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
S. A. Murawski et al. (eds.), Deep Oil Spills,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11605-7_24
Chapter 24
Chronic Sub-lethal Effects Observed
in Wild-Caught Fishes Following Two
Major Oil Spills in the Gulf of Mexico:
Deepwater Horizon and Ixtoc 1
Erin L. Pulster, Adolfo Gracia, Susan M. Snyder, Kristina Deak,
Susan Fogelson, and Steven A. Murawski
Abstract During and subsequent to major oil spill events, considerable attention
focuses on charismatic and economic megafauna – and especially fishes – and
visual manifestations of impacts upon them. Beginning with a series of tanker accidents occurring in Europe and the USA in the 1970s–1990s, greater awareness of
the potential for both acute and chronic sub-lethal impacts on fish populations has
focused on exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The ambiguity
of acute impacts observed during the Deepwater Horizon and Ixtoc 1 incidents has
promoted considerable new research on alternative toxic endpoints that portend
short- and long-term sub-lethal outcomes that influence the overall fitness of
exposed populations. Laboratory-based exposure studies have traditionally focused
on acute mortality-based endpoints (e.g., lethal concentrations at which 50% of the
population dies = LC 50 ) and observed at test concentrations normally exceeding
environmentally relevant concentrations in real-world spills. Consequently, using
laboratory-based toxicity experiments can be problematic inferring impacts on wild
fish populations. In this chapter we review historical and more recent information
documenting changes in abundance, recruitment, habitat use, population dynamics,
E. L. Pulster (*) · S. M. Snyder · S. A. Murawski
University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
e-mail: epulster@mail.usf.edu; ssnyder4@mail.usf.edu; smurawski@usf.edu
A. Gracia
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología,
México City, Mexico
e-mail: gracia@unam.mx
K. Deak
University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
e-mail: Kristina.Deak@MyFWC.com
S. Fogelson
Fishhead Labs, Stuart, FL, USA
e-mail: SFogelson@fishheadlabs.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
S. A. Murawski et al. (eds.), Deep Oil Spills,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11605-7_24
Chapter 24
Chronic Sub-lethal Effects Observed
in Wild-Caught Fishes Following Two
Major Oil Spills in the Gulf of Mexico:
Deepwater Horizon and Ixtoc 1
Erin L. Pulster, Adolfo Gracia, Susan M. Snyder, Kristina Deak,
Susan Fogelson, and Steven A. Murawski
Abstract During and subsequent to major oil spill events, considerable attention
focuses on charismatic and economic megafauna – and especially fishes – and
visual manifestations of impacts upon them. Beginning with a series of tanker accidents occurring in Europe and the USA in the 1970s–1990s, greater awareness of
the potential for both acute and chronic sub-lethal impacts on fish populations has
focused on exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The ambiguity
of acute impacts observed during the Deepwater Horizon and Ixtoc 1 incidents has
promoted considerable new research on alternative toxic endpoints that portend
short- and long-term sub-lethal outcomes that influence the overall fitness of
exposed populations. Laboratory-based exposure studies have traditionally focused
on acute mortality-based endpoints (e.g., lethal concentrations at which 50% of the
population dies = LC 50 ) and observed at test concentrations normally exceeding
environmentally relevant concentrations in real-world spills. Consequently, using
laboratory-based toxicity experiments can be problematic inferring impacts on wild
fish populations. In this chapter we review historical and more recent information
documenting changes in abundance, recruitment, habitat use, population dynamics,
E. L. Pulster (*) · S. M. Snyder · S. A. Murawski
University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
e-mail: epulster@mail.usf.edu; ssnyder4@mail.usf.edu; smurawski@usf.edu
A. Gracia
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología,
México City, Mexico
e-mail: gracia@unam.mx
K. Deak
University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
e-mail: Kristina.Deak@MyFWC.com
S. Fogelson
Fishhead Labs, Stuart, FL, USA
e-mail: SFogelson@fishheadlabs.com