Abstract:

This collection of datasets was generated from mesocosm experiments conducted from September to December 2017 to examine the effects of oil exposure on trophic interactions of fish and crustaceans in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Four predator species were used in this experiment: hardhead catfish (Ariopsis felis), Gulf killifish (Fundulus grandis), Gulf toadfish (Opsanus beta), and adult blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus). Prey assemblages composed of 3 common prey species (diamond killifish (Fundulus xenicus), juvenile blue crabs (C. sapidus), and grass shrimp (Palaemonetes spp.)) were exposed to predator assemblages composed of 4 individuals from a single species (monoculture), from two species (2 individuals from each species), or from four species (1 individual from each species) to manipulate potential effects of predator diversity. Experimental replicates were run in pairs consisting of 1 oiled tank and 1 un-oiled tank. Oiled tanks were inoculated at the initiation of each experiment and 24 hours after initiation. Water samples were collected from oiled and un-oiled tanks one hour after each inoculation and at the termination of the experiment from 5 randomly selected replicate pairs to measure the concentration of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in the water. Prey survival was recorded at the end of each 48-hour replicate.

Suggested Citation:

Valentine, John F.; Martin, Charles W.; Alford, Scott B.. 2019. Effects of oil exposure on multiple predator effects in coastal food webs, a mesocosm study from 2017-09-18 to 2017-12-04. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/n7-s9jq-n263

Purpose:

These datasets show the results of an experiment examining the effects of oil exposure on trophic interactions of common Gulf of Mexico. Analysis of these data will examine the role of biodiversity in ecosystem resiliency to large scale disturbances, such as oil spills.

Data Parameters and Units:

Datasets attribute information: 1. Oil Biodiversity Recovery Start.Date: The date that an experimental trial began. Experiments were terminated after 48 hr. Run: Sequential sets of replicates that were started at the same time. Lower numbers denote replicates that were ran earlier than those with higher numbers. Tank can be used with Run to identify individual replicates in this dataset and other datasets associated with this project. Tank: Individual tank that the replicate was conducted in. Tank can be used with Run to identify individual replicates in this dataset and other datasets associated with this project. DO: Average dissolved oxygen measured in mg/L of the experimental replicate. DO was measured at the onset and termination of each replicate and each morning and afternoon of the experiment, generating up to 5 measurements per replicate that are listed in the Oil Biodiversity Environmentals worksheet. NULL values in this column denotes that no measurements were recorded for a replicated due to sensor malfunction. Temp: Average temperature measured in °C of the experimental replicate. Temperature was measured at the onset and termination of each replicate and each morning and afternoon of the experiment, generating up to 5 measurements per replicate that are listed in the Oil Biodiversity Environmentals worksheet. NULL values in this column denotes that no measurements were recorded for a replicated due to sensor malfunction. Salinity: Salinity measured in ppt of the experimental replicate. Salinity was measured at the onset of each replicate. Sal.Source: Denotes whether or not the salinity measurement was taken from the source tank before experimental tanks were filled (“Yes” in this column) or if salinity was measured in the experimental tank (“No” in this column). This was necessary to obtain salinity measurements for Oiled replicates due to sensor malfunction from oil exposure. Oil: Describes the oil exposure treatment assigned to a replicate. Oiled tanks received 127 mL of unweathered crude oil (concentration: ~1 mL oil per 1 L water) at the initiation of a replicate and another inoculation of equal volume 24 hours after initiation (2 inoculations per 48 hour replicate to simulate press exposure conditions). No oil was added to Un-oiled tanks. Predator: Predator treatment assigned to each experimental replicate. Control – no predators were added to a replicate. 4 Catfish – 4 hardhead catfish Ariopsis felis were used as predators in a replicate. 4 Blue Crab – 4 male blue crabs Callinectes sapidus were used as predators in a replicate. 4 Gulf Killifish – 4 Gulf killifish Fundulus grandis were used as predators in a replicate. 4 Gulf Toadfish – 4 Gulf toadfish Opsanus beta were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Catfish / 2 Blue Crab – 2 hardhead catfish A. felis and 2 male blue crabs C. sapidus were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Gulf killifish / 2 Blue Crab – 2 Gulf killifish F. grandis and 2 male blue crabs C. sapidus were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Gulf Killifish / 2 Catfish – 2 Gulf killifish F. grandis and 2 hardhead catfish A. felis were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Gulf Toadfish / 2 Blue Crab – 2 Gulf toadfish O. beta and 2 male blue crabs C. sapidus were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Gulf Toadfish / 2 Catfish – 2 Gulf toadfish O. beta and 2 hardhead catfish A. felis were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Gulf Toadfish / 2 Gulf Killifish – 2 Gulf toadfish O. beta and 2 Gulf killifish F. grandis were used as predators in a replicate. 4 species – 1 hardhead catfish A. felis, 1 male blue crab C. sapidus, 1 Gulf killifish F. grandis, and 1 Gulf Toadfish O. beta (4 predator individuals total) were used as predators in a replicate. Crab: Number of juvenile blue crabs used as prey recovered from a replicate. Shrimp: Number of grass shrimp used as prey recovered from a replicate. Fish: Number of diamond killifish used as prey recovered from a replicate. Total: Number of total prey individuals from all prey species recovered from a replicate. This number is the sum of individual prey species recovered (crab, shrimp, fish). 2. Oil Biodiversity Prey Run: Sequential sets of replicates that were started at the same time. Lower numbers denote replicates that were ran earlier than those with higher numbers. Tank can be used with Run to identify individual replicates in this dataset and other datasets associated with this project. Tank: Individual tank that the replicate was conducted in. Tank can be used with Run to identify individual replicates in this dataset and other datasets associated with this project. Start.Date: The date that an experimental trial began. Experiments were terminated after 48 hr. Oil: Describes the oil exposure treatment assigned to a replicate. Oiled tanks received 127 mL of unweathered crude oil (concentration: ~1 mL oil per 1 L water) at the initiation of a replicate and another inoculation of equal volume 24 hours after initiation (2 inoculations per 48 hour replicate to simulate press exposure conditions). No oil was added to Un-oiled tanks. Predator: Predator treatment assigned to each experimental replicate. Control – no predators were added to a replicate. 4 Catfish – 4 hardhead catfish Ariopsis felis were used as predators in a replicate. 4 Blue Crab – 4 male blue crabs Callinectes sapidus were used as predators in a replicate. 4 Gulf Killifish – 4 Gulf killifish Fundulus grandis were used as predators in a replicate. 4 Gulf Toadfish – 4 Gulf toadfish Opsanus beta were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Catfish / 2 Blue Crab – 2 hardhead catfish A. felis and 2 male blue crabs C. sapidus were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Gulf killifish / 2 Blue Crab – 2 Gulf killifish F. grandis and 2 male blue crabs C. sapidus were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Gulf Killifish / 2 Catfish – 2 Gulf killifish F. grandis and 2 hardhead catfish A. felis were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Gulf Toadfish / 2 Blue Crab – 2 Gulf toadfish O. beta and 2 male blue crabs C. sapidus were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Gulf Toadfish / 2 Catfish – 2 Gulf toadfish O. beta and 2 hardhead catfish A. felis were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Gulf Toadfish / 2 Gulf Killifish – 2 Gulf toadfish O. beta and 2 Gulf killifish F. grandis were used as predators in a replicate. 4 species – 1 hardhead catfish A. felis, 1 male blue crab C. sapidus, 1 Gulf killifish F. grandis, and 1 Gulf Toadfish O. beta (4 predator individuals total) were used as predators in a replicate. Crab: Carapace widths (tip to tip of lateral spines, mm CW) of juvenile blue crabs C. sapidus used as prey in a replicate. Crab.Reco: Status of each individual juvenile blue crab prey at the termination of an experiment. “Recovered” denotes that a prey crab was recovered alive from the replicate. “Missing” indicates that a prey crab was not recovered at all at the end of the experiment and is assumed to have been consumed by other animals in the tank. Shrimp: Total lengths (tip of rostrum to tip of telson, mm TL) of grass shrimp Palaemonetes spp. used as prey in a replicate. Shrimp.Reco: Status of each individual grass shrimp prey at the termination of an experiment. “Recovered” denotes that a prey shrimp was recovered alive from the replicate. “Missing” indicates that a prey shrimp was not recovered at all at the end of the experiment and is assumed to have been consumed by other animals in the tank. Fish: Total lengths (mm TL) of diamond killifish Fundulus xenicus used as prey in a replicate. Fish.Reco: Status of each individual diamond killifish prey at the termination of an experiment. “Recovered” denotes that a prey fish was recovered alive from the replicate. “Missing” indicates that a prey fish was not recovered at all at the end of the experiment and is assumed to have been consumed by other animals in the tank. 3. Oil Biodiversity Predator Sizes Run: Sequential sets of replicates that were started at the same time. Lower numbers denote replicates that were ran earlier than those with higher numbers. Tank can be used with Run to identify individual replicates in this dataset and other datasets associated with this project. Tank: Individual tank that the replicate was conducted in. Tank can be used with Run to identify individual replicates in this dataset and other datasets associated with this project. Oil: Describes the oil exposure treatment assigned to a replicate. Oiled tanks received 127 mL of unweathered crude oil (concentration: ~1 mL oil per 1 L water) at the initiation of a replicate and another inoculation of equal volume 24 hours after initiation (2 inoculations per 48 hour replicate to simulate press exposure conditions). No oil was added to Un-oiled tanks. Predator: Predator treatment assigned to each experimental replicate. 4 Catfish – 4 hardhead catfish Ariopsis felis were used as predators in a replicate. 4 Blue Crab – 4 male blue crabs Callinectes sapidus were used as predators in a replicate. 4 Gulf Killifish – 4 Gulf killifish Fundulus grandis were used as predators in a replicate. 4 Gulf Toadfish – 4 Gulf toadfish Opsanus beta were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Catfish / 2 Blue Crab – 2 hardhead catfish A. felis and 2 male blue crabs C. sapidus were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Gulf killifish / 2 Blue Crab – 2 Gulf killifish F. grandis and 2 male blue crabs C. sapidus were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Gulf Killifish / 2 Catfish – 2 Gulf killifish F. grandis and 2 hardhead catfish A. felis were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Gulf Toadfish / 2 Blue Crab – 2 Gulf toadfish O. beta and 2 male blue crabs C. sapidus were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Gulf Toadfish / 2 Catfish – 2 Gulf toadfish O. beta and 2 hardhead catfish A. felis were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Gulf Toadfish / 2 Gulf Killifish – 2 Gulf toadfish O. beta and 2 Gulf killifish F. grandis were used as predators in a replicate. 4 species – 1 hardhead catfish A. felis, 1 male blue crab C. sapidus, 1 Gulf killifish F. grandis, and 1 Gulf Toadfish O. beta (4 predator individuals total) were used as predators in a replicate. Species: Species of the predator individual represented in each row. Blue Crab – male blue crab C. sapidus Gulf Killifish – Gulf Kilifish F. grandis Gulf Toadfish – Gulf Toadfish O. beta Catfish – hardhead catfish A. felis TL_CW: Total length (TL) or carapace width (CW) of an individual predator measured in mm. Total length was recorded for fish predators (Gulf killifish, Gulf toadfish, hardhead catfish) and carapace width (tip to tip of lateral spines) was recorded for blue crab predators. Recovered: “Alive” denotes that a predator individual was recovered alive at the termination of a replicate. “Dead” denotes that the predator was recovered dead at the termination of a replicate. 4. Oil Biodiversity Environmentals Run: Sequential sets of replicates that were started at the same time. Lower numbers denote replicates that were ran earlier than those with higher numbers. Tank can be used with Run to identify individual replicates in this dataset and other datasets associated with this project. Tank: Individual tank that the replicate was conducted in. Tank can be used with Run to identify individual replicates in this dataset and other datasets associated with this project. Start.Date: The date that an experimental trial began. Experiments were terminated after 48 hr. Oil: Describes the oil exposure treatment assigned to a replicate. Oiled tanks received 127 mL of unweathered crude oil (concentration: ~1 mL oil per 1 L water) at the initiation of a replicate and another inoculation of equal volume 24 hours after initiation (2 inoculations per 48 hour replicate to simulate press exposure conditions). No oil was added to Un-oiled tanks. Predator: Predator treatment assigned to each experimental replicate. Control – no predators were added to a replicate. 4 Catfish – 4 hardhead catfish Ariopsis felis were used as predators in a replicate. 4 Blue Crab – 4 male blue crabs Callinectes sapidus were used as predators in a replicate. 4 Gulf Killifish – 4 Gulf killifish Fundulus grandis were used as predators in a replicate. 4 Gulf Toadfish – 4 Gulf toadfish Opsanus beta were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Catfish / 2 Blue Crab – 2 hardhead catfish A. felis and 2 male blue crabs C. sapidus were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Gulf killifish / 2 Blue Crab – 2 Gulf killifish F. grandis and 2 male blue crabs C. sapidus were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Gulf Killifish / 2 Catfish – 2 Gulf killifish F. grandis and 2 hardhead catfish A. felis were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Gulf Toadfish / 2 Blue Crab – 2 Gulf toadfish O. beta and 2 male blue crabs C. sapidus were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Gulf Toadfish / 2 Catfish – 2 Gulf toadfish O. beta and 2 hardhead catfish A. felis were used as predators in a replicate. 2 Gulf Toadfish / 2 Gulf Killifish – 2 Gulf toadfish O. beta and 2 Gulf killifish F. grandis were used as predators in a replicate. 4 species – 1 hardhead catfish A. felis, 1 male blue crab C. sapidus, 1 Gulf killifish F. grandis, and 1 Gulf Toadfish O. beta (4 predator individuals total) were used as predators in a replicate.Predator: Predator treatment assigned to each experimental replicate. DO1-DO5: Individual measurements of dissolved oxygen (DO in mg/L). Up to 5 measurements were taken per experimental replicate. Censor malfunction and maintenance sometimes precluded all 5 measurements from being made, thus there are uneven numbers of measurements per replicate and per treatment. These values were used to calculate the average DO listed for each replicate in the "DO" column in the "Oil Biodiversity Recovery" datasheet. Temp1-Temp5: Individual measurements of temperature (°C). Up to 5 measurements were taken per experimental replicate. Censor malfunction and maintenance sometimes precluded all 5 measurements from being made, thus there are uneven numbers of measurements per replicate and per treatment. These values were used to calculate the average temperature listed for each replicate in the "Temp" column in the "Oil Biodiversity Recovery" datasheet. *** Some measurements were not taken due to maintenance and repair of equipment (YSI 2030). Fouling and sensor damage from oil in experimental tanks precluded some measurements. These cells are marked “NULL”.*** 5. Oil Biodiversity Water Chem Start.Date: The date that a sampled experimental trial began. Samples were taken 1 hour after initiation on the start date (TPH.1 and PAH.1), 29 hours after initiation (1 hour after the second inoculation on the second day of an experimental run, TPH.29 and PAH.29), and at termination (48 hours after initiation, TPH.48 and PAH.48). Dates for samples of unweathered crude oil taken directly from source containers (Tank = JAR) denotes the date that the sample was taken from the source container. Run: Sequential sets of replicates that were started at the same time. Lower numbers denote replicates that were ran earlier than those with higher numbers. Tank can be used with Run to identify individual replicates in this dataset and other datasets associated with this project. If Tank = JAR, Run indicates the sets of tanks that were being inoculated with unweathered crude oil from the source container that was sampled. Tank: Individual tank that the replicate was conducted in. Tank can be used with Run to identify individual replicates in this dataset and other datasets associated with this project. If Tank = JAR, samples of unweathered crude oil (not mixed into water) were taken directly from a source container. Oil: Describes the oil exposure treatment assigned to a replicate. Oiled tanks received 127 mL of unweathered crude oil (concentration: ~1 mL oil per 1 L water) at the initiation of a replicate and another inoculation of equal volume 24 hours after initiation (2 inoculations per 48 hour replicate to simulate press exposure conditions). No oil was added to Un-oiled tanks. TPH.1, TPH.29, TPH.48: Concentration of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) from water samples measured in mg/L taken at 1 hour after initiation of an experimental replicate (1 hour after the first inoculation, TPH.1), 29 hours after initiation (1 hour after second inoculation, TPH.2), and at the termination of the experiment (48 hours after initiation, TPH.48). PAH.1, PAH.29, PAH.48: Concentration of total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) from water samples measured in mg/L taken at 1 hour after initiation of an experimental replicate (1 hour after the first inoculation, PAH.1), 29 hours after initiation (1 hour after second inoculation, PAH.2), and at the termination of the experiment (48 hours after initiation, PAH.48). Jar.TPH and Jar.PAH: Concentration of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH, Jar.TPH) and total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH, Jar.PAH) measured in mg/kg from samples taken directly from source containers. Samples consisted only of unweathered crude oil (oil was never mixed into water).

Methods:

The methods for oil/water analysis were conducted by following the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) protocols: All undiluted oil samples were prepped for analysis according to EPA3546. All undiluted oil samples were analyzed for TPH concentrations using EPA 8015B modified method and analyzed for PAH concentrations using EPA8270. Oil/water matrix samples were prepped for TPH analysis using EPA3535 and prepped for PAH analysis using EPA3510. EPA8015B modified was used for TPH analysis and EPA8270 was used for PAH analysis of these samples.

Instruments:

EPA8015B analyses for TPH concentration was conducted on Agilent 6890 FID instruments. EPA8270 analyses for PAH concentration was conducted on Agilent 5975 instruments.

Individual Files: