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Pah Exposure In Red Snapper (Lutjanus Campechanus) Collected At Natural And Artificial Reef Systems In The Northwestern Gulf Of Mexico, Tiffany Jane Nicholson

USF St. Petersburg campus Master's Theses (Graduate)

Red Snapper are commonly recognized as an important fishery across the bordering states of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and are found in abundance around oil and gas platforms. A small, yet toxic and environmentally persistent component, of crude oil known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are released into Gulf waters through both anthropogenic (e.g., oil and gas activities) and natural (e.g., hydrocarbon seeps) sources. These pollutants are associated with a variety of negative health effects in fish including cardio-toxicity, reproductive and developmental impairment, and external skin lesions. The objectives of this study were to measure and to compare PAH …