ESR - Vol. 33 - Table of contents

Photos by Mark Dodd (left) and Blair Witherington (right)

Effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on protected marine species

 
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWH) covered over 110,000 square kilometers of the ocean surface and reached over 2000 kilometers of shoreline in the northern Gulf of Mexico in 2010. This extensive oiling contaminated vital foraging, migratory, and breeding habitats at the surface, in the water column, and on the ocean bottom throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico. Multiple protected marine species, including marine turtles and marine mammals were affected. The pervasive and prolonged nature of the DWH spill made exposure to oil inescapable for many animals, and caused significant injuries to marine turtle and marine mammal populations in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

The unprecedented size and duration of the DWH spill required different assessment and response approaches than those used in previous spills that occurred closer to shore and in smaller, more confined areas. The papers in this Theme Section of Endangered Species Research highlight the interdisciplinary approaches needed to evaluate and quantify the nature and magnitude of exposures to oil and the resulting mortality of protected species.

Editorial team for the Theme Section: Nick Pilcher, Marine Research Foundation, Sebah, Malaysia (Guest Editor); Andre Landry, Professor of Marine Biology and Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences (Retired) Texas A&M University at Galveston,TX, USA (Guest Editor); Michael Moore, Senior Research Specialist Biology, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, MA, USA (Guest Editor); Michael Ziccardi, Director of California’s Oiled Wildlife Care Network, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA (Guest Editor); Tracey Goldstein, One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA (Guest Editor)

Theme Section coordinators: Bryan Wallace, Abt Environmental Research, Inc. and Duke University Marine Lab (Contact person; bwallace(at)stratusconsulting.com); Barbara Schroeder NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources; Brian Stacy NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources; Lori Schwacke NOAA, National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science; Teri Rowles NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources

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Wallace BP, Brosnan T, McLamb D, Rowles T, Ruder E, Schroeder B, Schwacke L, Stacy B, Sullivan L, Takeshita R, Wehner D
OVERVIEW: Effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on protected marine species
ESR 33:1-7 | Full text in pdf format

Ylitalo GM, Collier TK, Anulacion BF, Juaire K, Boyer RH, da Silva DAM, Keene JL, Stacy BA
Determining oil and dispersant exposure in sea turtles from the northern Gulf of Mexico resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
ESR 33:9-24 | Full text in pdf format

Stacy NI, Field CL, Staggs L, MacLean RA, Stacy BA, Keene J, Cacela D, Pelton C, Cray C, Kelley M, Holmes S, Innis CJ
Clinicopathological findings in sea turtles assessed during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response
ESR 33:25-37 | Full text in pdf format

Mitchelmore CL, Bishop CA, Collier TK
Toxicological estimation of mortality of oceanic sea turtles oiled during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
ESR 33:39-50 | Full text in pdf format

Wallace BP, Stacy BA, Rissing M, Cacela D, Garrison LP, Graettinger GD, Holmes JV, McDonald T, McLamb D, Schroeder B
Estimating sea turtle exposures to Deepwater Horizon oil
ESR 33:51-67 | Full text in pdf format

McDonald TL, Schroeder BA, Stacy BA, Wallace BP, Starcevich LA, Gorham J, Tumlin MC, Cacela D, Rissing M, McLamb DB, Ruder E, Witherington BE
Density and exposure of surface-pelagic juvenile sea turtles to Deepwater Horizon oil
ESR 33:69-82 | Full text in pdf format

Lauritsen AM, Dixon PM, Cacela D, Brost B, Hardy R, MacPherson SL, Meylan A, Wallace BP, Witherington B
Impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta nest densities in northwest Florida
ESR 33:83-93 | Full text in pdf format

Takeshita R, Sullivan L, Smith C, Collier T, Hall A, Brosnan T, Rowles T, Schwacke L
REVIEW: The Deepwater Horizon oil spill marine mammal injury assessment
ESR 33:95-106 | Full text in pdf format

Wilkin SM, Rowles TK, Stratton E, Adimey N, Field CL, Wissmann S, Shigenaka G, Fougères E, Mase B, Southeast Region Stranding Network, Ziccardi MH
Marine mammal response operations during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
ESR 33:107-118 | Full text in pdf format

Aichinger Dias L, Litz J, Garrison L, Martinez A, Barry K, Speakman T
Exposure of cetaceans to petroleum products following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico
ESR 33:119-125 | Full text in pdf format

Smith CR, Rowles TK, Hart LB, Townsend FI, Wells RS, Zolman ES, Balmer BC, Quigley B, Ivančić M, McKercher W, Tumlin MC, Mullin KD, Adams JD, Wu Q, McFee W, Collier TK, Schwacke LH
Slow recovery of Barataria Bay dolphin health following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (2013−2014), with evidence of persistent lung disease and impaired stress response
ESR 33:127-142 | Full text in pdf format

Kellar NM, Speakman TR, Smith CR, Lane SM, Balmer BC, Trego ML, Catelani KN, Robbins MN, Allen CD, Wells RS, Zolman ES, Rowles TK, Schwacke LH
Low reproductive success rates of common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus in the northern Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon disaster (2010−2015)
ESR 33:143-158 | Full text in pdf format

Wells RS, Schwacke LH, Rowles TK, Balmer BC, Zolman E, Speakman T, Townsend FI, Tumlin MC, Barleycorn A, Wilkinson KA
Ranging patterns of common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
ESR 33:159-180 | Full text in pdf format

Hornsby FE, McDonald TL, Balmer BC, Speakman TR, Mullin KD, Rosel PE, Wells RS, Telander AC, Marcy PW, Schwacke LH
Using salinity to identify common bottlenose dolphin habitat in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, USA
ESR 33:181-192 | Full text in pdf format

McDonald TL, Hornsby FE, Speakman TR, Zolman ES, Mullin KD, Sinclair C, Rosel PE, Thomas L, Schwacke LH
Survival, density, and abundance of common bottlenose dolphins in Barataria Bay (USA) following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
ESR 33:193-209 | Full text in pdf format

Fauquier DA, Litz J, Sanchez S, Colegrove K, Schwacke LH, Hart L, Saliki J, Smith C, Goldstein T, Bowen-Stevens S, McFee W, Fougeres E, Mase-Guthrie B, Stratton E, Ewing R, Venn-Watson S, Carmichael RH, Clemons-Chevis C, Hatchett W, Shannon D, Shippee S, Smith S, Staggs L, Tumlin MC, Wingers NL, Rowles TK
Evaluation of morbillivirus exposure in cetaceans from the northern Gulf of Mexico 2010−2014
ESR 33:211-220 | Full text in pdf format

Rosel PE, Wilcox LA, Sinclair C, Speakman TR, Tumlin MC, Litz JA, Zolman ES
Genetic assignment to stock of stranded common bottlenose dolphins in southeastern Louisiana after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
ESR 33:221-234 | Full text in pdf format

Hohn AA, Thomas L, Carmichael RH, Litz J, Clemons-Chevis C, Shippee SF, Sinclair C, Smith S, Speakman TR, Tumlin MC, Zolman ES
Assigning stranded bottlenose dolphins to source stocks using stable isotope ratios following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
ESR 33:235-252 | Full text in pdf format

Thomas L, Booth CG, Rosel PE, Hohn A, Litz J, Schwacke LH
Where were they from? Modelling the source stock of dolphins stranded after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill using genetic and stable isotope data
ESR 33:253-264 | Full text in pdf format

Schwacke LH, Thomas L, Wells RS, McFee WE, Hohn AA, Mullin KD, Zolman ES, Quigley BM, Rowles TK, Schwacke JH
Quantifying injury to common bottlenose dolphins from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill using an age-, sex- and class-structured population model
ESR 33:265-279 | Full text in pdf format

Reich KJ, López-Castro MC, Shaver DJ, Iseton C, Hart KM, Hooper MJ, Schmitt CJ
δ¹³C and d¹⁵N in the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys kempii after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
ESR 33:281-289 | Full text in pdf format

De Guise S, Levin M, Gebhard E, Jasperse L, Burdett Hart L, Smith CR, Venn-Watson S, Townsend F, Wells R, Balmer B, Zolman E, Rowles T, Schwacke L
Changes in immune functions in bottlenose dolphins in the northern Gulf of Mexico associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
ESR 33:291-303 | Full text in pdf format