response of coastal fishes to the gulf of mexico oil disaster回应的沿海鱼类墨西哥湾的石油灾难.pdfVIP

Response of Coastal Fishes to the Gulf of Mexico Oil Disaster 1 2 F. Joel Fodrie *, Kenneth L. Heck Jr. 1 Institute of Marine Sciences and Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Morehead City, North Carolina, United States of America, 2 Dauphin Island Sea Lab and Department of Marine Sciences, University of South Alabama, Dauphin Island, Alabama, United States of America Abstract The ecosystem-level impacts of the Deepwater Horizon disaster have been largely unpredictable due to the unique setting and magnitude of this spill. We used a five-year (2006–2010) data set within the oil-affected region to explore acute consequences for early-stage survival of fish species inhabiting seagrass nursery habitat. Although many of these species spawned during spring-summer, and produced larvae vulnerable to oil-polluted water, overall and species-by-species catch rates were high in 2010 after the spill (1,9896220 fishes km-towed21 [m 6 1SE]) relative to the previous four years (1,080643 fishes km-towed21). Also, several exploited species were characterized by notably higher juvenile catch rates during 2010 following large-scale fisheries closures in the northern Gulf, although overall statistical results for the effects of fishery closures on assemblage-wide CPUE data were ambiguous. We conclude that immediate, catastrophic losses of 2010 cohorts were largely avoided, and that no shifts in species composition occurred following the spill. The potential long-term impacts facing fishes as a result of chronic exposure and delayed, indirect effects now require attention. Citation: Fodrie FJ, Heck KL Jr (2011) Response of Coastal Fishes to the Gulf of Mexico Oil Disaster. PLoS ONE 6(7): e21609. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021609 Editor: Steven J. Bograd, N