1. AIM: How do oil spills affect the environment?
DN: What types of animals are affected by oil spills? How?

3. What types of animals are affected by oil spills?
Any aquatic organism or shorebird is affected by oil spills.
How are animals affected by oil
spills?
Hypothermia
Poisoning/internal damage
Increased predation
Decreased reproduction
Habitat destruction

4. Hypothermia
The fur of animals and the feathers of birds have air spaces between them that acts as an insulator to keep them warm.
The oil causes the feathers or fur to stick together preventing it from acting as an insulator.
This can cause their body temperature to drop too much, potentially causing death

5. Poisoning/Internal Damage
Ingestion
Ulcers
Damage RBC’s
Damage to kidneys, liver,
immune system
Oil vapors
Eye and lung irritation
Drowsiness- can cause drowning
Biomagnificaton-
the amount of oil increases in concentration as it moves through the food chain.

6. Increased Predation
Oil weighs down feathers and fur of organisms, making it difficult for them to escape predators.

7. Decreased Reproduction
Oil can affect the eggs
Disruption of reproductive hormones and behaviors

8. Habitat Destruction
Offshore and onshore

9. How are oil spills cleaned?
Blooms and Skimmers
Dispersants
Biological agents
Naturally broken down

10. 1. Booms and skimmers Solid or inflatable tubes surround the oil
Booms are 3 feet above the surface and attach to a skirt below the surface
Skimmers scoop up the oil into tanks

11. 2. Dispersants Chemicals that break down the oil into droplets
Mixes into the water easier- not good in all areas

12. 3. Biological agents
Biodegredation- bacteria and other microorganisms break down the oil into harmless substances

13. 4. Naturally broken down
Sun, wind, current and waves can naturally break the oil down over time.

14. effect of oil spills on animals

15. 1989- Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
Prince William Sound, Alaska
Spilled about 11 million gallons of oil after hitting a reef
Led to 1990 Oil Pollution Act
Estimated killing of
250,000 seabirds
2,800 sea otters
300 harbor seals
250 bald eagles
at least a dozen killer whales
billions of salmon and herring eggs

17. flashback to exxon valdez oil spill

19. 2010- BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Gulf of Mexico
Over 200 million gallons of oil was pumped into the Gulf of Mexico
Lasted 87 days (April – July)
Killed 11 people

20. Cat Island

21. What Happened?
Explosion of Natural gas on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig caused it to collapse
When the platform sank, it ruptured the riser (the pipe that connects the well at the ocean floor to the drilling platform on the surface), causing the oil to gush out.
Attempts to shut down the flow failed when a safety device called a blowout preventer (BOP) could not be activated.

22. The Explosion
Oil gushing from the pipe

23. BP Oil Spill timeline
Cat Island

24. Long term effects of the BP oil spill
Sick dolphins
Higher rate of turtle strandings
Unbalanced food web- the spill occurred during prime breeding season
Decreased fish and wildlife populations
Decline in recreation