Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Impacts on Organisms and Habitats

Abstract

• 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."