Meeting Abstract

S9-2.3  Monday, Jan. 7  Integrative biological footprint of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the laboratory and field WHITEHEAD, A.*; PILCHER, W.; MAYER, G.; DUBANSKY, B.; GALVEZ, F.; University of California Davis; Louisiana State University; Texas Tech University; Louisiana State University; Louisiana State University awhitehead@ucdavis.edu

Large populations of killifish inhabit Gulf-exposed marsh habitats that are at high risk of contamination from oil spilled from the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and are strategic models for assessing contaminating oil impacts. We conducted a field study spanning the year following the spill, integrated with controlled laboratory exposures, to characterize oil spill impacts by integrating genomic and physiological indicators of biological effects. In field studies genome expression in livers and gills of resident fish was tracked across space and time. Genome expression was most distinct at the only field site out of six that was clearly impacted by oil, and at the peak of oil contamination documented by satellite imagery and analytical chemistry, showing a clear genomic footprint of oil exposure. Divergence in genome expression that coincided with contaminating oil is consistent with genome responses that are predictive of exposure to hydrocarbon-like chemicals and suggestive of physiological and reproductive impairment, and coincide with significant impacts on tissue morphology. Genome expression responses following exposures to oil in the laboratory were predictive of the responses observed in the field, and coincided with damage to the DNA molecule. These data confirm that marsh fish were exposed to the toxic components of contaminating oil in the field, highlight mechanisms underlying exposure responses, and contribute to forming hypotheses about how other natural estuarine stressors may interact with oil to affect organismal resilience in nature.