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.”
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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."
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."