Oil Spills Wreak Havoc on the Bottom of the Ocean, Even a Decade Later
Source: Wired ·
While oil is known to float, new research finds that over time it can permeate even extremely deep marine habitats, with animal populations declining by as much as 80 percent.
From the source
This story originally appeared on Inside Climate News and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Across hundreds of miles of the northern Gulf of Mexico, a deepwater ecosystem collapsed after the massive 2011 Deepwater Horizon oil and gas spill, and recovery is uncertain, new research concludes. The study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that animal populations—including octopus , krill, squid, and shrimp—declined by 60 to 85 percent in the three and a half years after the spill, with few signs of recovery since. Krill and lanternfish, both foundational species in the Gulf’s food web, were among the hardest hit. The findings also suggest that the die-off is causing genetic bottlenecks that could further hinder ecosystem recovery. The researchers identified it as the “fastest and most severe faunal decline reported for Earth’s largest ecosystem type” ever documented. The widespread die-off of marine organisms may also reduce the…