9 Animal Victims from Gulf Spill — Plus 2 Survivors

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the BP oil disaster, or the Macondo blowout) is an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which flowed for three months in 2010. The impact of the spill continues even after the well has been capped. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. The spill stemmed from a sea-floor oil gusher that resulted from the April 20, 2010 explosion of Deepwater Horizon, which drilled on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. The explosion killed 11 men working on the platform and injured 17 others. On July 15, 2010 the leak was stopped by capping the gushing wellhead,[11] after it had released about 4,900,000 barrels (779,000 m3) of crude oil. It was estimated that 53,000 barrels per day (8,400 m³/d) were escaping from the well just before it was capped. It is believed that the daily flow rate diminished over time, starting at about 62,000 barrels per day (9,900 m³/d) and decreasing as the reservoir of hydrocarbons feeding the gusher was gradually depleted.[9] On September 19, 2010 the relief well process was successfully completed, and the federal government declared the well "effectively dead".

Here is a row of nine animals are victim plus 2 Survivors :

Bottlenose Dolphin

Photograph by Alex Brandon, AP
A bottlenose dolphin breaks the oily surface of Chandeleur Sound, Louisiana (see map), on May 6, 2010, two weeks after an explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig sent crude gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.

Sea Turtle

Photograph by Bevil Knapp, European Pressphoto Agency

A rehabilitator checks an oiled Kemp's ridley sea turtle into a clinic in New Orleans, Louisiana, on June 24, 2010.

The oil spill posed a grave threat to the five species of sea turtle living in the Gulf of Mexico, all of which are on the U.S. endangered species list. (See sea turtle pictures.)

Brown Pelican

Photograph by Joel Sartore, National Geographichttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Three oil-coated brown pelican chicks sit on an island nest in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, in an undated picture.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has documented that more than 900 of the birds were harmed by the Gulf oil spill.

Wilson's Plover

Photograph by Bill Stripling
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A Wilson's plover forages in the tide's wake on a beach in Fort Myers, Florida, in an undated picture.

Only about 6,000 of these little shorebirds exist, and they are extremely vulnerable to disturbance of their beachfront nesting habitat, experts say. (See more bird pictures.)

Seafloor Invertebrates

Photograph courtesy Lophelia II 2010 Expedition/NOAA-OER/BOEMREhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Oil has taken a heavy toll on invertebrates living on the seafloor near the wellhead.

In a series of submarine dives in December, a team led by University of Georgia marine scientist Samantha Joye documented what she has called an "invertebrate graveyard."

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

Photograph courtesy NOAA

Atlantic bluefin tuna (seen schooling in an undated picture) are high on the list of species scientists have feared would be devastated by the Gulf oil spill.

As the most sought-after seafood, Atlantic bluefin populations had already plunged by 80 percent or more when the spill struck.

Pancake Batfish

Photograph by Dr. Prosanta Chakrabarty, Louisiana State University

While oil was still pouring out of the damaged well, scientists announced the discovery of two odd fish species called pancake batfish that reside in the Gulf of Mexico. The fish are palm-size and flat, with sturdy fins that they use to "walk" along the seafloor.

Various Insects and Spiders

Photograph courtesy Chuan-Kai Ho, Texas A&M

Marsh-dwelling spiders and insects, such as the planthopper Prokelisia marginata (pictured in an undated photograph), took a beating in the spill, according to Steven Pennings, a biologist at the University of Houston.

Pennings and graduate student Brittany DeLoach McCall sampled arthropods in both oiled and pristine marshes along the Gulf coast. The team found the heavily oiled vegetation closest to the sea in damaged marshes was completely devoid of insects and spiders.

Oyster

Photograph by Gerald Herbert, AP

A marine biologist samples oysters at a hatchery in Grand Isle, Louisiana, on August 9, 2010.

The shellfish are one of the northern Gulf's dietary and economic staples, and they were already threatened by pollution, habitat destruction, and overharvesting when the Gulf oil spill dealt them another heavy blow.

Florida Manatee

Photograph by Brian Skerry, National Geographic

A Florida manatee swims in a freshwater spring in Crystal River, Florida, in 2009.

The Gulf oil spill came at a terrible time for manatees, following on the heels of an unusually severe winter that killed off nearly 400 of the bulky marine mammals—a record number.

Deep-Sea Coral

Photograph by Cheryl Morrison, USGS

In November, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the discovery of two communities of dead and dying deep-sea chttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giforals 7 miles (11 kilometers) from the damaged well and about 4,600 feet (1,400 meters) beneath the waves.

The corals were discolored, degraded, and coated with a brown substance that made researchers suspect the Gulf oil spill was the cause.

Ref : National Geographic