RAPID: Assessment of the impacts of the Deep Horizon oil spill on Bluecrab, Callinectes sapidus, spawning and recruitment in the northcentral Gulf of Mexico.

2010年4月20日，墨西哥湾深水地平线石油钻井平台（DWH）爆炸，造成大规模石油泄漏，至今仍在继续，基本上没有减弱。这次石油泄漏的规模以及为控制石油泄漏而使用的化学分散剂都是前所未有的;它对墨西哥湾的生态影响完全未知。一个特别令人关切的问题是海面浮油对重要鱼类和无脊椎动物（如蓝蟹）的中上层幼体死亡率的影响。蓝蟹在沿海沃茨产卵，但幼虫迁移到近海开放的海洋环境中，在那里它们经过几个幼虫阶段，然后作为大眼幼体迁移回近岸区，转变为幼蟹，并定居在沿海沼泽栖息地。浮游幼虫阶段（即，水蚤）对环境压力非常敏感，接触表面浮油和分散剂极有可能导致蓝蟹幼体的广泛死亡。目前在墨西哥湾北方的DPH浮油的位置和大小使得蓝蟹蚤状幼体极有可能暴露在石油中，该RAPID项目的目的是研究DWH石油泄漏对沿海河口蓝蟹定居率的影响。Fulford博士及其同事将测量沿着密西西比海岸蓝蟹大眼幼体的定居率，并比较2010年的定居点与在同一地点定居的历史模式相比较。此外，还将使用预测性水动力模型，根据水动力作用力校正观测到的沉降，以便将2010年的沉降率与历史模式进行比较，重点是幼虫死亡率的变化，而不是幼虫扩散。该项目还将利用来自墨西哥湾沿岸研究实验室蓝蟹孵化场的蓝蟹蚤状幼体和大眼幼体进行一系列实验分析，以评估蓝蟹蚤状幼体和大眼幼体对原油和分散剂的反应死亡率。这些分析将有助于更好地解释现场数据，因为PI可以将在开阔海洋环境中观察到的原油和分散剂浓度与分析结果进行比较，以明确说明观察到的巨斑珊瑚沉降变化是否可能是由于石油引起的死亡。该项目的结果将是重要的DPH石油泄漏的生态系统影响的评估，以及重要的基线数据测量生态系统recovery.Broader影响：该项目也将有重要的更广泛的影响，因为数据将被用来校准沿海生态系统的食物网模型s的石油泄漏的影响。这些模型将允许在整个生态系统的规模上更广泛地审查对特定物种的影响。此外，该项目的结果将与泰勒在杜兰大学进行的蓝蟹定居点空间研究的结果相结合，这两个项目将形成一个更大项目的联系，以研究蓝蟹补充的区域模式，以支持基于生态系统的管理。最后，PI将利用GCRL关于沿海沼泽地蓝蟹定居点的长期数据集，该数据集以前没有被使用或完整发表，从而使科学界更容易获得数据。该项目由几位早期职业研究人员实施，他们将能够在项目研究结果的基础上建立自己的研究计划。

Intellectual Merit:On April 20, 2010 the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform (DWH) exploded in the Gulf of Mexico causing a massive oil spill that has continued to date, largely unabated. The scale of this oil spill, as well as the application of chemical dispersants to control it, is unprecedented; and its ecological impacts on the Gulf of Mexico are completely unknown. One issue of particular concern is the effect of surface oil slicks on the mortality rate of pelagic larvae of important fish and invertebrates, such as the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus. Blue crabs spawn in coastal waters, but larvae move offshore into the open marine environment where they pass through several larval stages before migrating back into the nearshore zone as megalopae to transform into juvenile crabs and settle into coastal marsh habitat. The pelagic larvae stages (i.e., zoea) are very sensitive to environmental stress and exposure to surface oil slicks and dispersant are highly likely to result in wide-spread mortality of blue crab larvae present. The location and size of the DpH oil slick currently in the northern Gulf of Mexico makes it highly likely that blue crab zoea will be exposed to either oil, dispersant or both and the objective of this RAPID project is to examine the impact of the DWH oil spill on blue crab settlement rates in coastal estuaries.Dr. Fulford and colleagues will measure the settlement rates of blue crab megalopae along the Mississippi coast and compare settlement in 2010 to historical patterns of settlement at the same sites. In addition, a predictive hydrodynamic model will be used to correct observed settlement for hydrodynamic forcing so that settlement rates in 2010 can be compared to historical patterns with a focus on changes in larval mortality rather than larval dispersal. The project will also make use of blue crab zoea and megalopae from the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL) blue crab hatchery to conduct a series of experimental assays to assess the mortality rate of blue crab zoea and megalopae in response to crude oil and dispersant. These assays will allow for a stronger interpretation of field data, as the PIs can compare observed concentrations of crude oil and dispersant in the open marine environment to assay results to state clearly whether any observed changes in megalopal settlement might be due to oil-induced mortality. The results of this project will be important as an assessment of the ecosystem impact of the DpH oil spill, as well as important baseline data for measuring ecosystem recovery.Broader Impacts:This project will also have important broader impacts as the data will be used to calibrate food web model s of the coastal ecosystem to impacts of the oil spill. These models will allow for a broader examination of the impacts on specific species at the scale of the entire ecosystem. Further, the results of this project will be combined with the results of a spatial examination of blue crab settlement being conducted at Tulane University by Taylor and the two projects will form the nexus of a larger project to examine regional patterns of blue crab recruitment in support of ecosystem-based management. Finally, the PIs will make use of a long-term dataset from GCRL on blue crab settlement in coastal marshes that has not been previously used or published in its entirety, thereby making the data more available to the scientific community. This project is being implemented by several early-career researchers who will be able to build on project findings to build their research programs.