• Conclusive statements about how organisms and biological communities fared after the Deepwater Horizon accident are still difficult to make nearly a decade after the spill. Much of the work on organisms and their habitats will continue for years to come, and some of the impacts will only be apparent with long-term study. • Scientists have learned, and will continue to learn, important lessons by studying the impacts of the largest accidental oil spill in history on marine habitats and life in the Gulf of Mexico, such as impacts on large vertebrates (fish, cetaceans, birds), deep-sea organisms, phytoplankton and other marine microbes, coastal and pelagic fishes, and marsh plants and animals. Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) researchers are finding that sublethal impacts (those that do not immediately kill the animal, but affect its feeding habits, navigation, gene expression, and/or reproduction) are important, and understanding them provides critical insight about longerterm, population-level impacts of the spill on marine life. • One of the most valuable lessons from this accident has been that it is critically important to collect baseline data for ecosystems, in particular those which are most at risk of impact by industrial activities, and GoMRI researchers are helping to contribute to this body of knowledge. • Researchers developed innovative ways to investigate the impacts of oil on many different organisms and habitats. An associated activity provides students the opportunity to conduct their own virtual experiment on two species of fish, assessing changes in swim behavior and vision after oil exposure with "fish treadmills."
In response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster, many innovative researchers adapted instruments not previously used in oil spill research, or invented new instruments that would change the way ocean science is done moving forward. • From using normal cameras in extraordinary ways to designing new platforms for data collection, scientists collaborated in order to develop new and improved scientific methods to investigate the environmental impacts of the spill on the Gulf's ecosystem. • The marine science technology developed through the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) will be one of the lasting legacies of the program. These tools can be used in other bodies of water, for other spills, to improve the response, and mitigation of future disasters. • Developing or modifying existing technologies in order to answer specific research questions is common throughout the scientific process. In order to exemplify this process in the classroom, an associated activity will guide students through developing their very own drifters, just like GoMRI scientists did to understand currents in the Gulf of Mexico and where oil will go after an oil spill.
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