scholarly journals Impact of Oil Spills on Marine Life in the Gulf of Mexico: Effects on Plankton, Nekton, and Deep-Sea Benthos

Oceanography ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 174-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Buskey ◽  
Helen White ◽  
Andrew Esbaugh
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Marine Life

scholarly journals Into the Benthos and Back: What have Infauna Taught Us

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul A. Montagna
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Hydrocarbon Exploration ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
River Outflow ◽  
Exploration And Production ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Hydrocarbon Exploration And Production

ABSTRACT ID 685153 Because of death and gravity, the bottom of the sea is the memory of the ecosystem, where a record of all past events can be found as you move into deeper layers of sediment. Thus, benthos are primary indicators for environmental assessments. As hydrocarbon exploration and production moved to deeper waters, so did environmental studies. But there were only a few Gulf-wide surveys in the deepest parts of the Gulf of Mexico, and our understanding of deep-sea processes was based primarily on other regions of the world. The intensive focus on deep-sea response during and after the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) accident increased our knowledge dramatically. We learned that the deep sea is dynamic, fragile, and will take a long time to recover. There was a 50% loss of biodiversity within 9 km diameter around the DWH site, and a 10% within a 17 km of the site. But there is still much to learn. The deep-sea is a reservoir of biodiversity on Earth, but about 60% of Gulf of Mexico taxa are still unknown, which is a major hinderance to understanding the effects of oil spills. The northern Gulf of Mexico is dominated by Mississippi River outflow, but exactly how it drives deep-sea dynamics needs better resolution. Two outcomes of the last decade of research is that we know benthos diversity is a sensitive indicator of environmental change and damage, the surface sediments are the biologically active zones, and the natural process of sinking particles will eventually cover the damaged sediment leading to natural recovery. This “restoration in place” strategy must be confirmed by future monitoring and assessment studies.

scholarly journals DNA barcoding enhances large-scale biodiversity initiatives for deep-pelagic crustaceans within the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent waters

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Varela ◽  
Charles Golightly ◽  
Laura E Timm ◽  
Blake Wilkins ◽  
Tamara Frank ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Dna Barcoding ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Large Subunit ◽  
Evolutionary Relationships ◽  
Protein Coding ◽  
Molecular Approaches ◽  
Species Complexes

Abstract The application of DNA barcoding represents a complementary and efficient approach to identifying specimens at all stages of their life cycle when used in combination with traditional morphological methods. Due to difficulties obtaining samples from the deep sea (> 200 m), these methods have been less frequently applied to deep-water taxa. We used DNA-barcoding techniques to enhance large-scale biodiversity initiatives for deep-pelagic crustaceans within the Gulf of Mexico, a region that has recently been identified as one of the world’s four most hyperdiverse ocean ecosystems. This study was conceptualized in direct response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in 2010, which identified major knowledge gaps in our understanding of deep-sea biodiversity. We employed traditional Sanger sequencing and a genomic skimming approach to target the mitochondrial ribosomal large subunit 16S and the protein-coding cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI). Alongside these molecular approaches, traditional taxonomic investigations allowed for advancements in biodiversity, evolutionary relationships, cryptic species complexes, and distributional records across four abundant and common deep-pelagic orders (Amphipoda, Euphausiacea, Lophogastrida, and Decapoda). DNA barcodes were successfully obtained from 82 species for a total of 158 and 169 new 16S and COI sequences, respectively. Evidence of cryptic diversity has been found in the genera EucopiaDana, 1852 (Lophogastrida) and Allosergestes Judkins & Kensley, 2008 (Decapoda). New records for the Gulf of Mexico of species of LanceolaSay, 1818 (Amphipoda), Eupasiphae Wood-Mason in Wood-Mason & Alcock, 1893, PasiphaeaSavigny, 1816, and MeningodoraSmith, 1882 (Caridea) are presented. Preliminary results allow us to reconsider the current classification and evolutionary relationships of several lineages. The urgency to document biodiversity in the deep-pelagic is pressing against a backdrop of future threats including oil spills and deep-sea drilling.

scholarly journals Two New Discoveries Showing the Human Impact on the Environment

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Atikaran Krishnamoorthy
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Human Impact ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Offshore Drilling ◽  
Marine Life ◽  
Plastic Wastes

Our environment provides us with vital resources, such as food, energy, and raw materials. However, many human activities harm the environment. For example, plastic wastes pollute our oceans, while the burning of coal pollutes the air. To add, offshore drilling has led to oil spills, such as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that is still hurting marine life even after ten years1.

Deep-sea erosional unconformity in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico

Geology ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 215 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Angstadt ◽  
J. A. Austin ◽  
R. T. Buffler
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Deep Sea

Deep Sea Drilling Project, Leg 77, southeastern Gulf of Mexico

1984 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 226 ◽  
Author(s):  
WOLFGANG SCHLAGER ◽  
RICHARD T. BUFFLER ◽  
DAVID ANGSTADT ◽  
JAY L. BOWDLER ◽  
PIERRE H. COTILLON ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Drilling Project

scholarly journals Deep-sea ophiuroids (Echinodermata) from reducing and non-reducing environments in the North Atlantic Ocean

2005 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 383-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Stöhr ◽  
Michel Segonzac
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Hydrothermal Vents ◽  
Cold Seep ◽  
Chemical Compositions ◽  
Cold Seeps ◽  
Additional Species ◽  
Blake Ridge ◽  
Reducing Environment

The animal communities associated with the deep-sea reducing environment have been studied for almost 30 years, but until now only a single species of ophiuroid, Ophioctenella acies, has been found at both hydrothermal vents and methane cold seeps. Since the faunal overlap between vent and seep communities is small and many endemic species have been found among other taxa (e.g. Mollusca, Crustacea), additional species of ophiuroids were expected at previously unstudied sites. Chemical compositions at reducing sites differ greatly from the nearby bathyal environment. Generally, species adapted to chemosynthetic environments are not found in non-chemosynthetic habitats, but occasional visitors of other bathyal species to vent and seep sites have been recorded among many taxa except ophiuroids. This paper presents an analysis of the ophiuroid fauna found at hydrothermal vents and non-reducing nearby sites on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and on methane cold seeps in the Gulf of Mexico, at Blake Ridge off South Carolina and south of Barbados. In addition to O. acies, four species were found at vents, Ophiactis tyleri sp. nov., Ophiocten centobi, Ophiomitra spinea and Ophiotreta valenciennesi rufescens. While Ophioctenella acies appears to be restricted to chemosynthetic areas, the other four species were also found in other bathyal habitats. They also occur in low numbers (mostly single individuals), whereas species adapted to hydrothermal areas typically occur in large numbers. Ophioscolex tripapillatus sp. nov. and Ophiophyllum atlanticum sp. nov. are described from nearby non-chemosynthetic sites. In a cold seep south of Barbados, three species of ophiuroids were found, including Ophioctenella acies, Amphiura sp., Ophiacantha longispina sp. nov. and Ophioplinthaca chelys. From the cold seeps at Blake Ridge and the Gulf of Mexico, Ophienigma spinilimbatum gen. et sp. nov. is described, likely restricted to the reducing environment. Ophiotreta valenciennesi rufescens occurred abundantly among Lophelia corals in the Gulf of Mexico seeps, which is the first record of this species from the West Atlantic. Habitat descriptions complement the taxonomic considerations, and the distribution of the animals in reducing environments is discussed.

Satellite Environmental Monitoring of Oil Spills in the South Gulf Of Mexico

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arturo Mendoza ◽  
Fernando P. Miranda ◽  
Karen Bannerman ◽  
Enrico Pedroso ◽  
Oscar López ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Environmental Monitoring ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
The South
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