BP Oil Spill had many negative effects to marine wildlife these effects occurred shortly after the instance while others occurred after the long run.
- This oil coated bird’s feathers and as a result many of the birds lost their buoyancy and capability to regulate their body temperature. Moreover, the oil concentration on the birds’ skin and face led to skin and eye lesions. Most of the birds died following this while the remaining few where infected with diseases. Birds require preening of their feathers so as to remain warm and dry, be able to remove parasites and remain ever in good shape. Nevertheless, internal exposure of oil in birds led to liver damage, ulcers and pneumonia. All this where the main causes of death which occurred to the birds. The data shows that of collected, 885 of them were found dead. The bird species collected following the spill were Brown pelican, Royal tern, Nothern gannet and laughing gull (Friedman 16).
- Many mammals ingested oil and thus this caused internal bleeding and ulcers to them and as a result they died decreasing the number of mammals in the sea. Ingested oil by the mammals led to breathing problems which had further effects to the internal body parts of the mammals. Among the most affected mammals where the blue whales, western Indian manatees, bottlenose dolphins and sperm whales. According to the data collected six months after the incident reported by the national Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA), indicated that 100 mammals where collected in the spill area (Friedman 30).
- Oil spill also death of deep sea corals this spread seven miles away from the deep-water horizon well. Several colonies where found dead without living tissues and the remaining corals appeared discolored and immobile. Fisher’s team realized and saw many dry coral species and dead at a depth of 4,500 feet and experts agreed that it was due to the effect of BP oil spill.
Long term impacts
- Unbalanced food web-BP oil spill took place during the peak breeding season for many species of wildlife and fish. The oil poisoned and destroyed egg and larval organisms diminishing all those classes. The marine wildlife depends on each other as for their survival. With death of the marine plants such as the corals, some birds, mammals and other wildlife which depend on them were unable to get food. Whales which depend on small marine wildlife such as the small fish were unable to get enough food following their death. As a result, there was low recreation following the lack of food which also saw some of the wildlife dying. With this the food web became unbalanced and this may also be seen in the future (Friedman 26).
- Decline in recreation-The gulf coast states are heavily relied for commercial fishing and recreation as a major local economy. Many marine wildlife died and the remaining part of them where infected with diseases. As a result, many of the where unable to recreate in the future which definitely led to decline in recreation of the marine wildlife. The gulf coast states area is said to have yield $659 million from sale of shellfish and finfish in 2008. However, following the BP oil spill the recreational fishing was shut down in May to August which seriously affected the park’s summer revenue (Freudenberg 20).
- Decreased fish and wildlife populations- Since the BP oil spill tragedy, scientists have watched fluctuations in fish and wildlife populations. The oil spill led to death of many marine wildlife and the effects had also been spread for the years after the tragedy. Many birds, mammals, turtles, and other marine wildlife died and many of those where left behind had various deficiencies. This implied that there would be more effect on the future recreation which definitely occurred. With this death and low recreation levels, the populations of fish and other marine wildlife decreased drastically.
Work Cited
Freudenburg, William R., and Robert Gramling. Blowout in the Gulf: the BP oil spill disaster and the future of energy in America. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2011. Print.
Friedman, Lauri S.. The BP oil spill. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Print.
