Five Years Later: An Update on the Status of Collections of Endemic Gulf of Mexico Fishes Put at Risk by the 2010 Oil Spill.

Prosanta Chakrabarty,Glynn O’Neill,Brandon Ballengee,Brannon Hardy

doi:10.3897/bdj.4.e8728

Abstract

BackgroundThe 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill took place over 180,000 square kilometers during a 12-week period over five years ago; however, this event continues to influence the development and distribution of organisms in and around the region of the disaster. Here we examine fish species that may have been most affected by noting their past distribution in the region of the spill and examining data of known collecting events over the last 10 years (five years prior to the spill, five years post spill).New informationWe found that more than half of the endemic fish species of the Gulf (45 of 77)

Highlights

The 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill was the largest accidental spill of oil in history (Crone and Tolstoy 2010, Rabalais 2014)
We found that more than half of the endemic fish species of the Gulf (45 of 77)
Chakrabarty et al (2012) listed fish species in need of conservation concern based on their known distribution in relation to the historical surface position of the oil spill

Summary

Background

The 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill took place over 180,000 square kilometers during a 12week period over five years ago; this event continues to influence the development and distribution of organisms in and around the region of the disaster. We examine fish species that may have been most affected by noting their past distribution in the region of the spill and examining data of known collecting events over the last 10 years (five years prior to the spill, five years post spill)

Introduction

Methods and Results

Discussion