Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Case Study: Using a Combined Laboratory, Field, and Modeling Approach to Assess Oil Spill Impacts

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Scenarios and Responses to Future Deep Oil Spills

  • 832 Accesses

Abstract

The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) spill was the largest oil spill in US history, requiring an assessment of injuries to nearshore habitats and estuarine organisms. Developing a model of appropriate complexity is critical in an environmental assessment; models should be complex enough to adequately address the assessment objectives without being more complex than is needed. We present an approach that starts with a sensitivity analysis of an initial assumption-based model to prioritize model parameters and focus research efforts to reduce model uncertainty. We then develop a targeted research strategy that utilized laboratory, field, and intermediate modeling efforts to parameterize a final set of models of varying complexity to evaluate risk. We demonstrate this process in a case study of the small estuarine fish, the sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus), exposed to weathered oil in Barataria Bay, LA, following the DWH oil spill.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Awkerman JA, Hemmer B, Almario A, Jackson CR, Barron MG, Raimondo S (2016) Spatially explicit risk assessment of estuarine fish after Deepwater Horizon Oil spill: trade-off in complexity and parsimony. Ecol Appl 26:1708–1720

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker MC, Steinhoff MA, Fricano GF (2017) Integrated effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on nearshore ecosystems. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 576:219–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barron MG (2012) Ecological impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill: implications for immunotoxicity. Toxicol Pathways 40:315–320

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bennett WA, Beitinger TL (1997) Temperature tolerance of the sheepshead minnow, Cyprinodon variegatus. Copeia 1997:77–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown-Peterson NJ, Krasnec MO, Lay CR, Morris JM, Griffitt RJ (2017) Responses of juvenile southern flounder exposed to Deepwater Horizon oil-contaminated sediment. Environ Toxicol Chem 36:1067–1076

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Caswell H (2001) Matrix population models. Sinauer Associates, Inc, Sunderland, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Chitty JD, Able KW (2004) Habitat use, movements and growth of the sheepshead minnow, Cyprinodon variegates, in a restored salt marsh in Delaware Bay. Bull New Jersey Acad Sci 49:1–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Cripe GM, Hemmer BL, Goodman LR, Fournie JW, Raimondo S, Vennari JC, Danner RL, Smith K, Manfredonia BR, Kulaw DH, Hemmer MJ (2009) Multigenerational exposure of the estuarine sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegates) to 17a-estradiol. I. Organism-level effects over three generations. Environ Toxicol Chem 28:2397–2408

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Haney DC (1999) Osmoregulation in the sheepshead minnow, Cyprinodon variegatus: Influence of a fluctuating salinity regime. Estuaries 22:1071–1077

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardy JD (1978) Development of fishes of the mid-Atlantic Bight. An atlas of egg, larval and juvenile stages. Volume II. Anguillidae through Syngnathida. FWS/OBS-78/12. Final Report. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Kinne O, Kinne EM (1962) Rates of development in embryos of the cyprinodont fish exposed to different temperature-salinity-oxygen combinations. Can J Zool 40:231–253

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lehuta S, Mahevas S, Petitgas P, Pelletier D (2010) Combining sensitivity and uncertainty analysis to evaluate the impact of management measures with ISIS – Fish: marine protected areas for the Bay of Biscay anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) fishery. ICES J Mar Sci 67(5):1063–1075

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin Q, Mendelssohn IA (2012) Impacts and recovery of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on vegetation structure and function of coastal salt marshes in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Environ Sci Technol 46:3737–3743

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mahmoudi N, Porter TM, Zimmerman AR, Fulthorpe RR, Kasozi GN, Silliman BR, Slater GF (2013) Rapid degradation of Deepwater Horizon spilled oil by indigenous microbial communities in Louisiana saltmarsh sediments. Environ Sci Technol 47:13303–13312

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Michel J, Owens EH, Zengel S, Graham A, Nixon Z et al (2013) Extent and degree of shoreline oiling: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Gulf of Mexico, USA. PLoS One 8(6):e65087

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nordlie FG (2000) Patterns of Reproduction and development of selected resident teleosts in Florida salt marshes. Hydrobiologia 434:165–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raimondo S (2012) Incorporating temperature-driven seasonal variation in survival, growth, and reproduction into population models for small fish. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 469:101–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raimondo S (2013) Density dependent functional forms drive compensation in populations exposed to stressors. Ecol Model 265:149–157

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Raimondo S, Hemmer BL, Goodman LR, Cripe GM (2009) Multigenerational exposure of the estuarine sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegates) to 17a-estradiol. II. Population-level effects through two life cycles. Environ Toxicol Chem 28:2409–2415

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Raimondo S, Rutter H, Jackson CR, Hemmer BL, Cripe GM (2013) The influence of density on adults and juveniles of the estuarine fish, the sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 439:69–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raimondo S, Jackson CR, Krzykwa J, Hemmer BL, Barron MG (2014) Developmental toxicity of Louisiana crude oiled-spiked sediment to zebrafish. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 108:265–272

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Raimondo S, Hemmer BL, Jackson CR, Krzykwa J, Almario A, Awkerman JA, Barron MG (2016) Effects of Louisiana crude oil on the sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus) during a life-cycle exposure to laboratory oiled sediment. Environ Toxicol 31:1627–1639

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Raimondo S, Etterson M, Pollesch N, Garber K, Kanarek A, Lehmann W, Awkerman J (2018) A framework for linking population model development with ecological risk assessment objectives. Integr Environ Assess Manag 14:369–380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rozas LP, Minello TJ (1997) Estimating densities of small fishes and decapod crustaceans in shallow estuarine habitats: A review of sampling design with focus on gear selection. Estuaries 20:199–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rutter H, Norberg M, Raimondo S (2012) Comparison of cultured and wild sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus) health condition metrics used in toxicity effects assessment. Gulf Mexico Sci 30(1–2):60–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmolke A, Thorbek P, DeAngelis DL, Grimm V (2010) Ecological models supporting environmental decision making: a strategy for the future. Trends Ecol Evol 25:479–486

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silliman BR, van de Koppel J, McCoy MW, Diller J, Kasozi GN, Earl K, Adams PN, Zimmerman AR (2012) Degradation and resilience in Louisiana salt marshes after the BP–Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Proc Natl Acad Sci. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1204922109

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sutton RJ (2002) Summer movements of desert pupfish among habitats at the Salton Sea. In: Barnum DA, Elder JF, Stephens D, Friend M (eds) The Salton Sea. Developments in hydrobiology, vol 161. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 223–228

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner RE, Overton EB, Meyer BM, Miles MS, McClenachan G, Hooper-Bui L, Engel AS, Swenson EM, Lee JM, Milan CS, Gao H (2014) Distribution and recovery trajectory of Macondo (Mississippi Canyon 252) oil in Louisiana coastal wetlands. Mar Pollut Bull 87:57–67

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • US EPA (2009) Summary report: risk assessment forum technical workshop on population-level ecological risk assessment. EPA/100/R-09/006. US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Alex Almario, George Craven, Geraldine Cripe, Adam Glahn, Becky Hemmer, Julie Krzywka, Crystal Lilivois, Bob Quarles, Hannah Rutter, and Deborah Vivian for their support during the research described here. The views expressed in this chapter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. US Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf Ecology Division, Gulf Breeze, FL, USA

    Sandy Raimondo, Jill A. Awkerman, Susan Yee & Mace G. Barron

Authors
  1. Sandy Raimondo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jill A. Awkerman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Susan Yee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mace G. Barron
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sandy Raimondo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL, USA

    Steven A. Murawski

  2. College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL, USA

    Cameron H. Ainsworth

  3. College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL, USA

    Sherryl Gilbert

  4. College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL, USA

    David J. Hollander

  5. Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    Claire B. Paris

  6. Hamburg University of Technology, Hamburg, Germany

    Michael Schlüter

  7. Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL, USA

    Dana L. Wetzel

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Raimondo, S., Awkerman, J.A., Yee, S., Barron, M.G. (2020). Case Study: Using a Combined Laboratory, Field, and Modeling Approach to Assess Oil Spill Impacts. In: Murawski, S., et al. Scenarios and Responses to Future Deep Oil Spills. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12963-7_16

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation