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Ecological Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (Bogota, Columbia)
Citation:
Wolf, D. Ecological Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (Bogota, Columbia). Presented at 1st INTERNATIONAL COURSE-SEMINAR OF ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGICAL PATHOLOGY, August 23 - 24, 2012.
Impact/Purpose:
This presentation will overview the events and ecological impacts of the DWH oil spill, and discuss the effects of petroleum on the health of aquatic organisms and marine and coastal wildlife.
Description:
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWH) was the largest environmental disaster and response effort in US History, with nearly 800 million liters spilled. Vast areas of the Gulf of Mexico were contaminated with oil, including deep ocean communities, protected species, over 1600 km of shoreline, and over 20M hectares were closed to fishing. Multiple species of pelagic, tidal, and estuarine organisms, sea turtles, marine mammals and birds were exposed to free product, dispersed, and weathered oil. The assessment of impacts from the DWH spill are ongoing. For example, although petroleum and the PAH component of oils are known to affect the immune system of aquatic organisms and wildlife, they are not typically assessed during oil spills, and the effects on immunity are contradictory and often exposure dependent. Previous studies with aquatic invertebrates have shown imparied cellular immunity. The immunotoxic responses in fish exposed to petroleum products and PAHs include macrophage respiratory burst and lymphocyte proliferation. Studies of oiling in birds and mammals have shown pro-inflammatory effects and cell proliferative responses. Recent studies in both fish and mammals exposed to heavy petroleum show modulation of expression of immune system related genes. This presentation will overview the events and ecological impacts of the DWH oil spill, and discuss the effects of petroleum on the health of aquatic organisms and marine and coastal wildlife. (This abstract of a presentation does not represent the policies or opinions of the U. S. EPA).