Environmental Toxicology IMPACTS OF DEEPWATER HORIZON CRUDE OIL EXPOSURE ON ADULT MAHI-MAHI (CORYPHAENA HIPPURUS) SWIM PERFORMANCE

The temporal and geographic attributes of the Deepwater Horizon incident in 2010 likely exposed pelagic game fish species, such as mahi-mahi, to crude oil. Although much of the research assessing the effects of the spill has focused on early life stages of fish, studies examining whole-animal physiological responses of adult marine fish species are lacking. Using swim chamber respirometry, the present study demonstrates that acute exposure to a sublethal concentration of the water accommodated fraction of Deepwater Horizon crude oil results in significant swim performance impacts on young adult mahi-mahi, representing the first report of acute sublethal toxicity on adult pelagic fish in the Gulf of Mexico following the spill. At an exposure concentration of 8.4 0.6mg L 1 sum of 50 selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; mean of geometric means standard error of the mean), significant decreases in the critical and optimal swimming speeds of 14% and 10%, respectively (p< 0.05), were observed. In addition, a 20% reduction in the maximum metabolic rate and a 29% reduction in aerobic scope resulted from exposure to this level of SPAHs. Using environmentally relevant crude oil exposure concentrations and a commercially and ecologically valuable Gulf of Mexico fish species, the present results provide insight into the effects of theDeepwater Horizon oil spill on adult pelagic fish. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;9999:1–10.# 2016 SETAC