THE DEPTH OF DAMAGE

Graphic by Cindy Jones-Hulfachor/Sun Sentinel

Images not to scale

COASTAL WATER
Shorelines and marsh are fragile habitats and important spawning grounds. Oil would smother life. Sea turtles Officials plan to relocate 70,000 eggs from nests to Floridas east coast. Five endangered species are in the Gulf.
LOGGERHEAD TURTLE ROSEATE SPOONBILL

Scientists are uncertain about the final outcome of the oil spill, but they do know that oil upsets the natural balance of the ocean from its glistening surface to the dark depths.

Blue crabs lay eggs in coastal areas now covered in oil.

BROWN PELICAN

THE OCEANS SURFACE

Surface oil greatly impacts surface feeders, larvae and juvenile fish and contaminates the shoreline and marsh. Whale sharks are at risk because they are surface feeders, sucking plankton, fish eggs and small fish. Oiled shellfish taste bad to prey, impacting food in the food chain. Oysters are now dying from oil. Those that do live may store toxins in their shells as they grow. Oiled mangrove roots damage shelter-providing trees and feeding grounds for birds and juvenile fish. Seabirds with oil-soaked feathers may get hypothermia and risk drowning. Predators target birds that cant fly. Only a fraction of birds will survive cleaning.

THE FOOD CHAIN

Phytoplankton and algae are at the base of the food chain. Oil that contaminates the base passes up the food chain to larger prey.

Oil kills gulf algae which is a floating habitat for 145 types of invertebrates, 100 fish, 5 sea turtles and 19 seabirds, from the Gulf to the Atlantic Ocean.

Oil hampers the diffusion of air into water, breaking the cycle of replenishing the oceans oxygen.

Dolphins collect oil when they surface, which can affect their eyesight.

Killer oil clouds are lethal to fragile coral reefs.

Plankton, microscopic animals and plants are vulnerable on the waters surface and deep into the Gulf. Present oil also is harmful to marine larvae released into plankton.

HUMPBACK WHALE

Oil balls clog whales baleen, which filters plankton and krill.

OIL DANGERS
FACTORS IN Makeup of oil AN OIL SPILL or dispersant EFFECTS ON FISH AND MARINE LIFE Burns to the eyes, possible blindness Length of exposure Type of Age of Food supply exposure marine life contamination
Ingested Inhaled Contact Oil or dispersants

THE VAST BLUE

Deep underwater clouds of oil or dispersed oil will take its toll on deepwater marine life. Marlin, snapper and grouper are affected by oil deep in the ocean as they swim down hundreds of feet.

Bluefin tuna breed only in the Gulf and in the Mediterranean. It is possible that their numbers may not recover.
BLUE MARLIN

Fin erosion

Toxins collect in tissue poisoning larger marine life in the food chain.

BLUEFIN TUNA

Scales or skin lesions lead to infection

Larvae and fish eggs are vulnerable to oil. Oil can be absorbed through the eggshell.

RED SNAPPER LEATHERBACK TURTLE

SPERM WHALE

OCEANIC WHITETIP SHARK

Leatherback turtles and sperm whales dive to 3,200-foot depths. Oil plumes in the depths may be oxygen depleted with toxic oil and methane.

Clogged gills Kidney damage Burns in mouth Heart, respiratory rate

Damage to intestinal tract, ulcers, bleeding and diarrhea, inability to absorb food. Enlarged livers LONG-TERM EFFECTS Loss of body weight from reduced food supply Dehydration from animals refusing to drink Reproduction may be affected in surviving animals. Spawning fish and marine life require certain conditions to lay eggs or offspring.

Inflammation, pneumonia and emphysema

WILDLIFE COLLECTED
THE OCEAN FLOOR
SAND SEATROUT

Oil near and on the sea floor will threaten deep-sea marine life: deep-sea corals, jellyfish, Atlantic croaker, sand seatrout and sand perch.

An accumulation of dead marine life, waste and oil may cause an expansion of oxygen-starved areas known as dead zones and block the release of rich nutrients into the water column, key to the food chain. Bacteria on the oceans floor uses oxygen as it decomposes material. This adds to oxygen depletion.

Collected in impacted areas: Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and on the Gulf of Mexico.*

Type of animal Birds Sea turtles Mammals

Collected alive 975 157 5

Collected dead 1,505 447 54

Total collected 2,490 604 59

Percent released 42.1% 1.9% 20%

For information, go to www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com and look under Current Ops, Fish and Wildlife Report
* Figures as of July 7

DEEP-SEA CORAL

JELLYFISH

SOURCES: What the spill will kill, by Sharon Begley, Newsweek; Researchers predict larger-than-average Gulf dead zone, University of Michigan; Deepwater Horizon Response Consolidated Fish and Wildlife Collection Report; Australian Maritime Safety Authority; Global Marine Oil Pollution, Information Gateway; NOAA; ITOPF; AP; news reports