Researchers from Auburn University, the University of South Alabama, and Dauphin Island Sea Lab published results of a study that simulated the effects of oil and oil dispersants on the microbial life in the coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico on July 31, 2102, in the open access peer reviewed journal Public Library of Science.
The researchers simulated the effects of oil, oil and Corexit 9500A, and Corexit 9500A on the development of microbial life in the surface communities that produce the coastal microbial food for coastal marine life and fish. These coastal fish are the food source for the food fish that humans consume.
The researchers found that a group of microbial life called ciliates (the microbes move by use of cilia) was disturbed to the point of eradication by the combination of oil and Corexit 9500A. Similar events were not documented during the DeepWater Horizon oil spill because most scientific investigation was centered on the effect of the oil spill on life in deep water.
The degradation of the life forms that feed the rest of the life forms in the Gulf bodes for uniquely poor fishing in years to come despite advertisement of record catches in the time since the DeepWater Horizon oil spill.
Similar effects were seen in the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The herring catch off the coast of Alaska that the Exxon Valdez oil spill affected dropped to record lows three years after the oil spill. Evidence exists that a degradation in ciliate populations was the cause of the reduced fish populations.
Complete explanation of accompanying charts.
Distribution of carbon in the six microbial groups over time for each of the five treatments.
Values shown are averages for the five replicates. Values from the June experiment are shown on the left for Prokaryotes and Viruses (A), Dinoflagellates and Diatoms (C) and Ciliates and HNFs (E). August values on the right (B, D and F). In June (E), HNF values were not obtained at t-2 and 5 d, but all data was collected for August (F).
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