The South Atlantic Offshore Drilling Forum: An Investigation of Potential Impacts on Our Coasts

Seabird Resources

J. Christopher Haney, Ph.D.Chief scientist

Defenders of Wildlife

William & Ida Friday Center for

Continuing Education

Chapel Hill, NC

March 12, 2015

Unique attributes of seabirds in South Atlantic Bight

-- An unusual juxtaposition of bathymetry, water masses, and currents, especially in the vicinity of the Outer Banks, promote a spectacular community of marine birds

-- This region is a ‘hotspot’ for species diversity, arguably the top-ranked such site in the western Atlantic, and one of the greatest in North America

-- Numerical abundance and persistence of some species tell us the region is among the most important marine habitats for them anywhere in the world

-- Species originate from very wide areas, ranging from Canada, the South Atlantic, western Europe, and the Caribbean

Sargassum functions much like an upside-down reef

Audubon’s Shearwaters (Puffinus lherminieri) can specialize on looking for

small fish in the alga

Bridled Terns (Sterna anaethetus) rest on flotsam associated with Sargassum

and also feed on nearby fish

Red-necked Phalaropes (Phalaropus lobatus) seize shrimp, copepods, and other

zooplankton linked to Sargassum

Click icon to add pictureExtent of spilled oil was immense, covering much of the eastern Gulf of Mexico

Cumulative oil slick footprint from the BP/Deepwater Horizon spill, based on satellite imagery between April 25 and July 16, 2010 (Skytruth)

Due to buoyancy and current patterns, oil and Sargassum are unfortunately always destined to end up in the same locations

How did oil damage the Sargassum community? (1) Sargassum accumulated oil on its surface, thereby exposing animals to high concentrations of contaminants;

(2) application of dispersant sank Sargassum, thus removing the habitat and potentially transporting oil and dispersant vertically; and (3) low oxygen surrounded

the habitat and potentially

stressed the animals that reside in the alga.From: Powers SP, Hernandez FJ, Condon RH, Drymon JM, Free CM (2013) Novel pathways for injury from offshore oil spills: direct, sublethal and indirect effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on pelagic Sargassum communities. PLoS ONE 8(9): e74802. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0074802

In memoriam David S. Lee