How did the Exxon Valdez oil spill affect sea otters?

How did the Exxon Valdez oil spill affect sea otters?

Sea otters, a species highly susceptible to oil-related mortality (1–5), occupied the coastal waters affected by the spill. By September 1989, nearly 1,000 dead otters had been recovered in the spill area (6), and total mortality because of the spill was undoubtedly higher (7–9).

What were the long term effects of the Exxon Valdez?

A new study released today into the effects of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska shows that embryonic salmon and herring exposed to very low levels of crude oil can develop hidden heart defects that compromise their later survival, indicating that the spill may have had much greater impacts on spawning fish …

How many otters died in the Exxon Valdez oil spill?

Prince William Sound had been a pristine wilderness before the spill. The Exxon Valdez disaster dramatically changed all of that, taking a major toll on wildlife. It killed an estimated 250,000 sea birds, 3,000 otters, 300 seals, 250 bald eagles and 22 killer whales.

What happens to sea otters when they get oil stuck to their fur?

The contamination of sea otter (Enhydra lurris) fur with crude oil or dispersants reduces its insulation and could subject the animal to hypothermia.

How long did it take sea otters to recover after the Exxon Valdez oil spill?

“For sea otters, we began to see signs of recovery in the years leading up to 2009, two decades after the spill, and the most recent results from 2011 to 2013 are consistent with recovery as defined by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council.”

Are there still effects from Exxon Valdez oil spill?

A small portion of the oil from the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill still lingers in patches beneath Prince William Sound, Alaska, beaches. However, this and other studies suggests the remaining oil is sequestered, or buried, and currently is not posing a risk to the coastal and marine ecosystem.

What are the long term effects of oil spills?

Large-scale persistent ecological effects included impacts to deep ocean corals, failed recruitment of oysters over multiple years, damage to coastal wetlands, and reduced dolphin, sea turtle, and seabird populations.

How does oil spill affect marine life?

Oil spills are harmful to marine birds and mammals as well as fish and shellfish. When exposed to oil, adult fish may experience reduced growth, enlarged livers, changes in heart and respiration rates, fin erosion, and reproduction impairment.

How does oil spill affect marine life creatures?

Birds, Fish, and Sea Mammals The health effects of oil spills include: Hypothermia: contact with oil can harm the insulation of feathers and fur, leaving birds, sea otters, and seals vulnerable to hypothermia. Other damage: Marine life’s respiratory, cardiac, and immune systems can be compromised due to oil spills.

Why were Iraqi forces dumping oil into the Persian Gulf?

In January of 1991, Iraqi forces allegedly began dumping oil into the Persian Gulf to stop a U.S. coalition-led water landing on their shores.

Did the Exxon Valdez oil spill affect sea otters in Alaska?

We use age distributions of sea otters ( Enhydra lutris) found dead on beaches of western Prince William Sound, Alaska, between 1976 and 1998 in conjunction with time-varying demographic models to test for lingering effects from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Do population-wide effects of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill dissipate slowly?

Population-wide effects of the spill appear to have slowly dissipated through time, due largely to the loss of cohorts alive during the spill.

Are oiled shorelines still toxic after 1991?

Although most remaining oil residues were deemed nontoxic by the summer of 1991 ( 16, 17 ), toxic components persist where oil is protected from weathering and may be mobilized after high-energy storms ( 15, 18 ). Thus, oiled shorelines provided a reservoir for continued contamination of adjacent intertidal areas and nearshore waters.

Do liver enzymes change in sea otters?

Analogous changes in serum enzymes associated with liver damage were documented in wild sea otters from 1989 to 1992, and again, although to a much lesser extent, in 1996–1998 ( 13 ).