The effects of temperature on oil-induced respiratory impairment in red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus)

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) crude oil spill, among the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history, affected numerous economically important fishes. Exposure to crude oil can lead to reduced cardiac function, limiting oxygen transport, ATP production, and aerobic performance. However, crude oil exposure is not the only stressor that affects aerobic performance, and increasing environmental temperatures are known to significantly increase metabolic demands in fishes. As the DWH spill was active during warm summer months in the Gulf of Mexico, it is important to understand the combined effects of oil and temperature on a suite of metabolic parameters. Therefore, we investigated the effects of 24h crude oil exposure on the aerobic metabolism and hypoxia tolerance of red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) following 3 week chronic exposure to four ecologically relevant temperatures (18 degrees C, 22 degrees C, 25 degrees C, 28 degrees C). Our results show that individuals acclimated to higher temperatures had significantly higher standard metabolic rate than individuals at lower temperatures, which resulted in significantly decreased critical oxygen threshold and reduced recovery from exercise. As predicted, crude oil exposure resulted in lower maximum metabolic rates (MMR) across the temperature range, and a significantly reduced ability to recover from exercise. The lowest temperature acclimation showed the smallest effect of oil on MMR, while the highest temperature showed the smallest effect on exercise recovery. Reduced respiratory performance and hypoxia tolerance are likely to have meaningful impacts on the fitness of red drum, especially with climate-induced temperature increases and continued oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.

Automated summary

The study found that crude oil exposure can reduce the maximum metabolic rate and exercise recovery ability of red drum, with a more pronounced effect on individuals adapted to higher temperatures. The traditional assumption that temperature is the main factor affecting aerobic performance may be altered by the impact of crude oil exposure.