New York Times, July 25. Much oil spread at 1100-1300m depth, contaminating and affecting deepwater habitats. Oil Spills Effect On Wildlife. When exposed to oil, adult fish may experience reduced growth, enlarged livers, changes in heart and respiration rates, fin erosion, and reproduction impairment. These are among the most notable areas of environmental damage caused by spills: Oil spills coat everything they touch and become unwelcome but long-term parts of every ecosystem they enter. When an oil slick from a large spill reaches a beach, oil coats and clings to every rock and grain of sand. If the oil washes into coastal marshes, mangrove forests, or other wetlands, fibrous plants and grasses absorb oil, which can damage plants and make the area unsuitable as wildlife habitat., When oil eventually stops floating on the water's surface and begins to sink into the marine environment, it can have similar damaging effects on fragile underwater ecosystems, killing or contaminating fish and smaller organisms that are essential links in the global food chain.. Part of the oil waste may sink with suspended particulate matter, and the remainder eventually congeals into sticky tar balls. The effects of an oil spill will depend on a variety of factors including, the quantity and type of oil spilled, and how it interacts with the marine environment. The oil spill in the Gulf Of Mexico, resulting from the explosion at a BP offshore drilling rig that tragically left 11 dead, is quickly growing to become the biggest ecological disaster this country has ever experienced. But many of the long-term effects from the spill cannot be seen with the naked eye. Oil-covered birds are a universal symbol of environmental damage wreaked by oil spills. Even a small amount of oil can be deadly to a bird. By coating feathers, oil not only makes flying impossible but also destroys birds' natural waterproofing and insulation, leaving them vulnerable to hypothermia or overheating. As birds frantically preen their feathers to restore their natural protections, they often swallow oil, which can severely damage their internal organs and lead to death. The best estimate of the Exxon Valdez oil spill is that it killed 250,000 seabirds.. Since oil spills can occur anywhere in the ocean or near land, the resources needed to repair the situation in a timely manner are generally not located near the site. Outright ingestion of oil creates toxins in the system. Oil spill can be of two different categories – the land spillage and the aquatic spillage – but they all have a negative impact on both the environment and the society in general. The oils spread fast over a short time to cover vast expanses of the water body. Since most of the oil floats in water, the sunlight absorbing capacity of the water decreases. The Exxon Valdez oil spill killed 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, and up to 22 killer whales. In the years after the Exxon Valdez spill, scientists noted higher death rates among sea otters and other species affected by the spill and stunted growth or other damage among additional species. Thirty-five years after the disaster, researchers have found that the Prince William Sound ecosystem seems to have finally recovered, and localized effects on sea otters appear to have been resolved. , Oil spills often take a deadly toll on fish, shellfish, and other marine life, particularly if many fish eggs or larvae are exposed to oil. Shrimp and oyster fisheries along the Louisiana coast were among early casualties of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Similarly, the Exxon Valdez spill destroyed billions of salmon and herring eggs. Fisheries impacted by the Exxon Valdez took over three decades to recover., Long-term damage to species and their habitats and nesting or breeding grounds is one of the most far-reaching environmental effects caused by oil spills. Even species that spend most of their lives at sea, such as various species of sea turtles, must come ashore to nest. Sea turtles can be harmed by oil they encounter in the water or on the beach where they lay their eggs, their eggs can be damaged by oil and fail to develop properly, and newly hatched turtles may be oiled as they scurry toward the ocean across an oily beach., Ultimately, the severity of environmental damage caused by an oil spill depends on many factors, including the amount of oil spilled, type and weight of oil, location of the spill, species of wildlife in the area, timing of breeding cycles and seasonal migrations, and even the weather at sea during and after the oil spill.. Fish may be the most affected in the case of an oil spill. Due to water pollution, immunity of the marine animals reduces leading to its death. Beaches, Marshlands, and Fragile Aquatic Ecosystems, Julie Dermansky / Contributor / Getty Images, National Parks in Florida: Beaches, Mangrove Swamps, Sea Turtles, Geography of the World's Largest Oil Spills, Lakeview Gusher of 1910 Bigger, Not Worse, Than BP Oil Spill, Facts About Marine Life in the Gulf of Mexico, The Top 10 Wildlife Conservation Organizations, The Environmental Impacts of Hurricane Katrina, Understanding Oil Spills And Oil Spill Response, Water Marks: Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration News, Slightly Weathered Exxon Valdez Oil Persists in Gulf of Alaska Beach Sediments after 16 Years, Five Years & Counting: Gulf Wildlife in the Aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon Disaster, Experimental and Modeled Thermoregulatory Costs of Repeated Sublethal Oil Exposure in the Double-Crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax Auritus, Effects of Petroleum Exposure on Birds: A Review, Handbook of Oil Spill Science and Technology (First Edition). Prevailing weather conditions will also influence the oil’s physical characteristics and its behaviour. The oil spill in Cebu, although locally significant, pales in comparison to major oil spill disasters in human history. The effects of an oil spill will depend on a variety of factors including, the quantity and type of oil spilled, and how it interacts with the marine environment. Damage to stocks as a result of toxic or smothering effects of the oil … PAH was found up to 8 miles from the wreckage site and was later found to be causing cardiac arrest in fish. The general ways to clean up an oil spill are varied and cause their own environmental effects. An oil spill can have a major impact on the economy in coastal areas. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill constituted an ecosystem-level injury in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The lasting effects of the spill mean they must walk much longer distances to get to the periwinkles. 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