Oil spilled in Gulf of Mexico causes heart problems in developing tuna


March 24, 2014, 1:30 p.m.

There’s more bad news about the effects of oil spills on warm-water
predators, including Atlantic bluefin tuna, already one of the most
threatened fish in the seas.

Oil spills such as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of
Mexico may cause serious heart defects in developing fish embryos,
according to a study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration that was published Monday in the journal Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences.

The release of more than 4 million barrels of oil between April and July
2010 coincided with the spawning window for commercially and
ecologically important species such as bluefin and yellowfin tunas, mahi
mahi, Spanish mackerels and blue marlin.

Much of that oil rose from the wellhead on the ocean floor to the
surface, potentially exposing buoyant and rapidly developing fish
embryos and larvae to toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs.

In the laboratory, the researchers found that embryos of bluefin tuna,
yellowfin tuna and amberjack exposed to field-collected Deepwater
Horizon oil samples suffered defects in heart development resulting in
irregular heartbeat, circulatory disruption and pericardial fluid
accumulation.

The defects occurred in the fish at PAH concentrations of one to 15
parts per billion -- lower than those measured in samples collected from
the upper water column of the northern Gulf of Mexico during the spill.

“Losses of early life stages were therefore likely for Gulf populations
of tunas, amberjack, swordfish, billfish and other large predators that
spawned in oiled surface habitats,” the study says.

Exposure to low levels of crude oil was shown to produce abnormal heart
rhythms even in fish larvae that otherwise appeared to be normal, study
leader John P. Incardona, an ecotoxicologist at NOAA, said in an interview.

“Larvae exposed to high levels were dead within a week,” Incardona
added. “But we still don’t know how long they lived after exposure to
lower levels, or how much spawning area may have been impacted.”

The BP spill, which was caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil rig
explosion, was the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The blast
killed 11 workers and unleashed nearly 5 million barrels of crude into
the environment.

The study was conducted by researchers at NOAA, Stanford University, the
University of Miami and the University of the Sunshine Coast,
Maroochydore, Australia.

In a response, Jason Ryan, a spokesman for BP America Inc., said, “The
paper provides no evidence to suggest a population-level impact on tuna,
amberjack or other pelagic fish species in the Gulf of Mexico."

The study follows an earlier research paper published in February
showing that PAHs block signaling pathways that allow potassium and
calcium ions to flow in and out of cardiac cell membranes and sustain
normal heart rates in fish. It also suggests that very low
concentrations of crude oil can disrupt these signaling pathways,
slowing the pace of heartbeats.

Both studies suggest that PAH cardiotoxicity was potentially a common
form of injury among a broad range of species near the oil spilled into
the Gulf of Mexico, where the population of bluefin tuna is at a
historic low level and petitioned for listing as federally endangered.

The gulf's population of bluefin tuna, which can grow to 12 feet in
length, weigh 1,400 pounds and live for 35 years, is a fraction of its
abundance in the early 1950s.

Scientists say future research should be extended to include mammals and
humans because the signaling pathways of their cardiac cells are similar
to those of tuna. PAHs are found in coal tar, creosote, air pollution
and urban runoff.

The findings are a source of concern for environmentalists and fishermen
in the Gulf of Mexico, including some who participated in the massive
cleanup effort there four years ago.

"For a species like bluefin tuna, whose populations have crashed due to
overfishing and are fighting to rebuild their former abundance, BP's oil
was a shot to the heart," said Jacqueline Savitz, a spokeswoman for the
advocacy group Oceana.

Bonny L. Shoemaker, president of On Wings of Care, a nonprofit dedicated
to the protection and preservation of wildlife and habitat, said the
studies "are providing answers to important questions: What are the
long-term effects of PAHs on ecosystems, and on humans?”
--
Rand Paul & Ted Cruz…your 2016 GOP nominees, because ‘Mericans deserve
crazy!

On Tue, 25 Mar 2014 06:40:26 -0400, F*O*A*D wrote:

....another troll.

On 3/25/2014 6:40 AM, F*O*A*D wrote:
Oil spilled in Gulf of Mexico causes heart problems in developing tuna


March 24, 2014, 1:30 p.m.

There’s more bad news about the effects of oil spills on warm-water
predators, including Atlantic bluefin tuna, already one of the most
threatened fish in the seas.

Oil spills such as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of
Mexico may cause serious heart defects in developing fish embryos,
according to a study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration that was published Monday in the journal Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences.

The release of more than 4 million barrels of oil between April and July
2010 coincided with the spawning window for commercially and
ecologically important species such as bluefin and yellowfin tunas, mahi
mahi, Spanish mackerels and blue marlin.

Much of that oil rose from the wellhead on the ocean floor to the
surface, potentially exposing buoyant and rapidly developing fish
embryos and larvae to toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs.

In the laboratory, the researchers found that embryos of bluefin tuna,
yellowfin tuna and amberjack exposed to field-collected Deepwater
Horizon oil samples suffered defects in heart development resulting in
irregular heartbeat, circulatory disruption and pericardial fluid
accumulation.

The defects occurred in the fish at PAH concentrations of one to 15
parts per billion -- lower than those measured in samples collected from
the upper water column of the northern Gulf of Mexico during the spill.

“Losses of early life stages were therefore likely for Gulf populations
of tunas, amberjack, swordfish, billfish and other large predators that
spawned in oiled surface habitats,” the study says.

Exposure to low levels of crude oil was shown to produce abnormal heart
rhythms even in fish larvae that otherwise appeared to be normal, study
leader John P. Incardona, an ecotoxicologist at NOAA, said in an interview.

“Larvae exposed to high levels were dead within a week,” Incardona
added. “But we still don’t know how long they lived after exposure to
lower levels, or how much spawning area may have been impacted.”

The BP spill, which was caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil rig
explosion, was the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The blast
killed 11 workers and unleashed nearly 5 million barrels of crude into
the environment.

The study was conducted by researchers at NOAA, Stanford University, the
University of Miami and the University of the Sunshine Coast,
Maroochydore, Australia.

In a response, Jason Ryan, a spokesman for BP America Inc., said, “The
paper provides no evidence to suggest a population-level impact on tuna,
amberjack or other pelagic fish species in the Gulf of Mexico."

The study follows an earlier research paper published in February
showing that PAHs block signaling pathways that allow potassium and
calcium ions to flow in and out of cardiac cell membranes and sustain
normal heart rates in fish. It also suggests that very low
concentrations of crude oil can disrupt these signaling pathways,
slowing the pace of heartbeats.

Both studies suggest that PAH cardiotoxicity was potentially a common
form of injury among a broad range of species near the oil spilled into
the Gulf of Mexico, where the population of bluefin tuna is at a
historic low level and petitioned for listing as federally endangered.

The gulf's population of bluefin tuna, which can grow to 12 feet in
length, weigh 1,400 pounds and live for 35 years, is a fraction of its
abundance in the early 1950s.

Scientists say future research should be extended to include mammals and
humans because the signaling pathways of their cardiac cells are similar
to those of tuna. PAHs are found in coal tar, creosote, air pollution
and urban runoff.

The findings are a source of concern for environmentalists and fishermen
in the Gulf of Mexico, including some who participated in the massive
cleanup effort there four years ago.

"For a species like bluefin tuna, whose populations have crashed due to
overfishing and are fighting to rebuild their former abundance, BP's oil
was a shot to the heart," said Jacqueline Savitz, a spokeswoman for the
advocacy group Oceana.

Bonny L. Shoemaker, president of On Wings of Care, a nonprofit dedicated
to the protection and preservation of wildlife and habitat, said the
studies "are providing answers to important questions: What are the
long-term effects of PAHs on ecosystems, and on humans?”

'Nuff said.

On 3/25/14, 8:14 AM, Poquito Loco wrote:
On Tue, 25 Mar 2014 06:40:26 -0400, F*O*A*D wrote:

...another troll.



You're really a douchebag, Johnnycakes. The plight of tuna has much more
to do with rec.boats than any of your never-ending posts about the
hobbies you are involved in because, well, because you have nothing to
do...model planes, motorcycle, RV'ing.

--
Rand Paul & Ted Cruz…your 2016 GOP nominees, because ‘Mericans deserve
crazy!

Poquito Loco wrote:
On Tue, 25 Mar 2014 06:40:26 -0400, F*O*A*D wrote:

...another troll.

Perhaps the deadbeat troll should unionize the tuna.