"'The worry is that if you have reduced swimming performance you're going to be less effective at capturing prey, and less effective in avoiding (predators),' said Martin Grosell, a professor at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

Researchers treated mahi-mahi embryos and young fish with oil collected from near the damaged wellhead and from the gulf's surface. Individual fish were then transferred to clean water for at least 25 days before their swim speeds were tested in a kind of aquatic treadmill.

The speed of the young, inch-long fish, thought to be among the fastest on the planet at about five body lengths per second, 'dropped by about 37 percent,' Grosell said."

Zachary Fagenson reports for Reuters June 23, 2014. [2]