Abstract:

Gulf killifish (Fundulus grandis) spawn on a semi-lunar cycle. Eggs are deposited on substrates such as grass and roots of marsh habitat during the spring tides at the new and full moon, when water levels are highest. Between spring tides, water levels fall and many Gulf killifish embryos are exposed to the air prior to the next spring tide approximately two weeks later. Since the timing of landfall of Deepwater Horizon oil coincided with the breeding season, it is likely that many Gulf killifish (and terrestrial vertebrates) were exposed to volatile polyaromatic hycrocarbons (PAHs) from oil in their habitat. The experiments in this dataset monitor development of Gulf killifish incubated in close proximity to oil. Oil was placed in a 450 ml incubation chamber and Gulf killifish embryos were elevated 5 mm above the oil such that they were not touching the oil. Embryos were incubated at 95% humidity at 26 degrees celcius for 10 days, then submerged in 10 parts per thousand sea water. Hatching success was monitored to determine the effect on hatching as a metric of effect.