Brief oil exposure reduces fitness in wild Gulf of Mexico mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus)

Lela S. Schlenker; John D. Stieglitz; Justin Blaine Greer; Robin Faillettaz; Chi Hin Lam; Ronald H. Hoenig; Rachael M. Heuer; Charles J. McGuigan; Christina Pasparakis; Emma B. Esch; Gabrielle M. Ménard; Alexandra L. Jaroszewski; Claire B. Paris; Daniel Schlenk; Daniel D. Benetti; Martin Grosell

doi:10.1021/acs.est.2c01783

Brief oil exposure reduces fitness in wild Gulf of Mexico mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus)

Environmental Science and Technology

By: Lela S. Schlenker, John D. Stieglitz, Justin Blaine Greer, Robin Faillettaz, Chi Hin Lam, Ronald H. Hoenig, Rachael M. Heuer, Charles J. McGuigan, Christina Pasparakis, Emma B. Esch, Gabrielle M. Ménard, Alexandra L. Jaroszewski, Claire B. Paris, Daniel Schlenk, Daniel D. Benetti, and Martin Grosell

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c01783

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Abstract

The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster released 3.19 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) in 2010, overlapping the habitat of pelagic fish populations. Using mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus)─a highly migratory marine teleost present in the GOM during the spill─as a model species, laboratory experiments demonstrate injuries to physiology and behavior following oil exposure. However, more than a decade postspill, impacts on wild populations remain unknown. To address this gap, we exposed wild mahi-mahi to crude oil or control conditions onboard a research vessel, collected fin clip samples, and tagged them with electronic tags prior to release into the GOM. We demonstrate profound effects on survival and reproduction in the wild. In addition to significant changes in gene expression profiles and predation mortality, we documented altered acceleration and habitat use in the first 8 days oil-exposed individuals were at liberty as well as a cessation of apparent spawning activity for at least 37 days. These data reveal that even a brief and low-dose exposure to crude oil impairs fitness in wild mahi-mahi. These findings offer new perspectives on the lasting impacts of the DWH blowout and provide insight about the impacts of future deep-sea oil spills.

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Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	Brief oil exposure reduces fitness in wild Gulf of Mexico mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus)
Series title	Environmental Science and Technology
DOI	10.1021/acs.est.2c01783
Volume	56
Issue	18
Year Published	2022
Language	English
Publisher	ACS Publications
Contributing office(s)	Western Fisheries Research Center
Description	10 p.
First page	13019
Last page	13028
Public Comments	Data for this article may be accessed through the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC) available at https://data.gulfresearchinititative.org DOIs: 10.7266/n7-4dtr-8q59, 10.7266/n7-fj6q-5s78, 10.7266/n7-048s-e981, 10.7266/n7-cyk9-sx09.
Other Geospatial	Gulf of Mexico
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