Archive for the ‘Marine Life in the Gulf’ Category

Question: Oil leaking in the gulf kills most of the top feeders; good for marine life?

Quite a lot of the bottom feeders are eating well on the dead carcasses such as dolphin. It seems to me there is an evolutionary change that might take place in the ecosystem of the gulf. With food so abundant, can this not spawn a huge increase in the populations of bottom feeders such as shrimp, clam, and oysters? Seems like that would be good for industries like shrimping in the longer term.

Answer: The crude oil causes a systemic kill. Top to bottom. The most important life forms are planktons. This is the base of the food web. What is also important is the timing of the spill. It occurred when many fish, shellfish, clams and oysters were spawning. No successful spawn equates to no new year class.

Scientists Survey Marine Life in Gulf Flyover