title: δ(13)C and δ(15)N in deep-living fishes and shrimps after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Gulf of Mexico.
abstract: The blowout of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) drill-rig produced a surface oil layer, dispersed micro-droplets throughout the water column, and sub-surface plumes. We measured stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in mesopelagic fishes and shrimps in the vicinity of DWH collected prior to, six weeks after, and one year after the oil spill (2007, 2010 and 2011). In 2010, the year of the oil spill, a small but significant depletion of δ(13)C was found in two mesopelagic fishes (Gonostoma elongatum and Chauliodus sloani) and one shrimp (Systellaspis debilis); a significant δ(15)N enrichment was identified in the same shrimp and in three fish species (G. elongatum, Ceratoscopelus warmingii, and Lepidophanes guentheri). The δ(15)N change did not suggest a change of trophic level, but did indicate a change in diet. The data suggest that carbon from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was incorporated into the mesopelagic food web of the Gulf of Mexico.
authors.affiliation: College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, 140th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA. Electronic address: equintan@mail.usf.edu.
authors.forename: Ester
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Quintana-Rizzo
authors.affiliation: College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, 140th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.affiliation: Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 5600 Marvin Moss Lane, Wilmington, NC 28409, USA.
authors.forename: Steve W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.affiliation: College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, 140th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.affiliation: College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, 140th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA.
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.affiliation: College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, 140th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA.
authors.forename: Ethan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Goddard
authors.affiliation: College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, 140th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hollander
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002244:Carbon; D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000378:metabolism; D003445:Crustacea / Q000378:metabolism*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005399:Fishes / Q000378:metabolism*; D060851:Gulf of America; D008800:Mexico; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes / Q000378:metabolism; D059392:Petroleum Pollution
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes; D002244:Carbon
keywords: Deepwater Horizon; Gulf of Mexico; Mesopelagic fauna; Oil spill; Stable isotopes