Age Frequency, Growth, Mortality and PAH Levels of Roughtongue Bass, Pronotogrammus Martinicensis, Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Age frequency, growth, mortality and PAH levels of roughtongue bass, Pronotogrammus martinicensis, following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. by Lindsay Katherine Biermann A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Auburn University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Auburn, Alabama December 10, 2016 Keywords: Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Age, Growth, Mortality, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon analysis, roughtongue bass Copyright 2016 by Lindsay Katherine Biermann Committee Members Stephen T. Szedlmayer, Chair, Professor School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences Stephen A. Bullard, Associate Professor School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences Terrill R. Hanson, Professor/Extension Specialist, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences ABSTRACT The 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill and its immediate effects on the surrounding ecosystems have been extensively examined, but longer term effects are still widely unknown. Among the regions potentially affected by the DWH spill were the Pinnacle reefs located 54 to 111 km from the spill site. Roughtongue bass, Pronotogrammus martinicensis, is an ecologically important resident fish from these “mesophotic” reefs. The present study examined age frequency, growth rate, mortality, and PAH levels in roughtongue bass from the Pinnacle reefs. Sample sites within the Pinnacles included the Alabama Alps 54 km from the DWH site, and Roughtongue Reef 111 km from the DWH site. Fish were collected in September-October 2014 (n = 190), December 2014 (n = 249), March 2015 (n = 310) and June-July 2015 (n = 360). Size of roughtongue bass collected ranged from 54 to 135 mm standard length (SL; n = 1109). Resident fish (n = 1090) were dominated by the 2009 and 2010-year classes.
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