Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Study - Sediments in Gulf Are Going to Act as Long-Term Reservoir of Oil Hurting Fish Populations

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Study - Sediments in Gulf Are Going to Act as Long-Term Reservoir of Oil Hurting Fish Populations

    Gulf oil spill could cause lasting damage to fish populations, study finds

    By Juliet Eilperin, Published: September 26

    snip

    Whitehead said the results show that just because fish from the gulf have passed federal inspections, it does not mean these species are unaffected by the spill.

    “You can have a fish that’s safe to eat but is still not healthy,” he said, adding that as sediment containing hydrocarbons is dredged up by storms, it could expose species over time. “The sediments are going to act as this long-term reservoir of oil, of potential exposure.”

    ----------------

    Genomic and physiological footprint of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on resident marsh fishes

    Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, and Coastal Studies Institute, Louisiana State
    University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803;

    Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX 78666; and

    Department of Biological
    Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634
    Edited by Paul G. Falkowski, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, and approved September 1, 2011 (received for review
    June 13, 2011)

    "Our data reveal biologically relevant sublethal exposures causing alterations in genome expression and tissue morphology suggestive of physiological impairment persisting for over 2 mo after initial exposures. Sublethal effects were predictive of deleterious population-level impacts that persisted over long periods of time in aquatic species following the Exxon Valdez spill (1) and must be a focus of long-term research in the Gulf of Mexico, especially because high concentrations of hydrocarbons in sediments (Dataset S2) may provide a persistent source of exposures to organisms resident in Louisiana marshes."


    Attached Files
Working...
X