Taxonomic and Distributional Appraisal of Deep-Sea Sergestid Crustaceans in the Northern Gulf of Mexico after Deepwater Horizon

This study is the first to describe the sergestid assemblage in terms of abundance, biomass and, species rank around the site of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (DWHOS). Prior knowledge of the species was limited in the GOM as all previous studies were performed solely at one location in the eastern Gulf. Data were analyzed from samples collected on the M/V Meg Skansi cruises of April to June, 2011 and DEEPEND cruises in May of 2015 and 2016. There are no data available from the area before the oil spill; therefore, the data from 2011, collected one year after the DWHOS, were compared with the DEEPEND data of 2015 and 2016. Statistical analyses were conducted to determine if significant changes in the assemblage occurred between 2011 and 2016, which, if present, would be indicative of a significant impact of the DWHOS. Due to the increased understanding of depth distributions, migratory behavior and reproductive seasonality of the study species, this study also provides valuable data on deep-sea crustacean assemblages needed to model potential impacts of future disasters.