Finfish built to outlast oil spill
By SeafoodSource staff
14 July, 2010 -
Research conducted by a Louisiana State University professor of oceanography and coastal sciences shows that finfish populations in the Gulf of Mexico will likely fare better than mollusks and crustaceans as the oil spill dissipates.
According to Dr. James Cowan Jr., the three factors that affect the vulnerability of different species to the spill are mobility, life-cycle length and the habitats it depends on.
Animals that are site-attached have a higher sensitivity to oil spills, so animals like oysters that lead a sedimentary life may be the first and hardest hit by the spill. In addition, animals with the shortest life cycles — like shrimp and crab, which have life cycles of about one year — are probably the most vulnerable because they don’t have a lot of resistance to either over-exploitation or environmental impacts.
In contrast, long-living fish like red snapper only need a stronger year-class every five to seven years to sustain their population.
Because it’s so expansive, the spill has the potential to affect everything from the upper-estuarine habitat all the way out to the continental shelf, impacting not only adult habitats but also nursery habitats, explained Cowan.
However, there is not enough data yet to hypothesize the long-term effects on habitats, he added.
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14 July, 2010
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