Oyster Responses to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill across Coastal Louisiana: Examining Oyster Health and Hydrocarbon Bioaccumulation

Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 269 Materials and Methods............................................................................................................... 271

Experimental Design.............................................................................................................. 271 Study 1: Caged Oysters Sampling Pre-Coastal Oiling in May 2010........................... 271 Study 2: Caged Oysters Sampling Post-Coastal Oiling in October

2010 and 2011 ................................................................................................................. 273 Study 3: Wild Oysters Sampling Post-Coastal Oiling in October

2010 and August 2011 ................................................................................................... 273 Environmental Parameters ................................................................................................... 273 Hemocyte Measurements ...................................................................................................... 274 HSP70 Measurements ............................................................................................................ 274 Perkinsus marinus Infection Intensity and Condition Index ............................................. 276 Histopathology Analyses ...................................................................................................... 276 PAH Concentrations .............................................................................................................. 276 Statistical Analyses .................................................................................................................277

Results ...........................................................................................................................................277 Study 1: Caged Oysters Sampling Pre-Coastal Oiling in May 2010 ...............................277 Study 2: Caged Oysters Sampling Post-Coastal Oiling in October 2010 and 2011 ....... 279