The fragile ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico are at great risk. Adding to the tragedy is that this is an incredibly vital area—and an incredibly vital time of year—for countless numbers of species that come for refuge to this specific stretch of the country to breed, nest, spawn, feed, and rest during migration. Peak migration and breeding times are late-April through mid-May. The timing could not be worse.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say the oil spill could affect up to twenty national wildlife refuges, and four covering more than 70,000 acres are in immediate concern. All wildlife is threatened by this nightmare of an environmental disaster, but these twelve are in the most peril.
Nesting and Migrating Shore Birds
Photo courtesy of Britta (cc)
Shorebirds such as plovers, sandpipers, and oystercatchers are nesting or preparing to nest on beaches and barrier islands in Louisiana. Those that build their nests on the ground and feed on invertebrates are vulnerable to oil coming ashore.
Many shore birds are also making their spring migration through the area, and habitually stop along the Gulf Coast to rest and feed. Shorebirds currently coming from wintering grounds in South America to breeding grounds in boreal forests and arctic tundra congregate in large numbers on beaches and barrier islands during the last week of April and first week of May—as chance would have it, the two weeks of the entire year that migration peaks. Experts are very concerned for a number of different bird groups and species based on the uncanny timing and the possible scope of the impact.
Migrating Songbirds
Photo courtesy of dominic sherony (cc)
We may not associate songbirds with the gulf shore, but migratory songbirds—warblers, orioles, buntings, flycatchers, swallows, hummingbirds and others—fly across the Gulf from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and rest and feed in the spill area. The non-stop journey across 500 miles of open water tests their endurance to its limits, and they rely on clear skies and healthy habitats on both sides of the Gulf in order to survive their journey.
Aside from needing healthy habitats for rest and food, the smoke from controlled burns to mitigate the oil spill could affect the migration.
Brown Pelicans
Photo courtesy of Alan D. (cc)
The brown pelican has not had an easy time of it. The gracefully gangling birds were only removed from the endangered species list last year, and there is a major population, around 34, 000 of them, currently nesting in the Gulf at the Breton National Wildlife Refuge. They are facing serious threat.
Diving birds are very susceptible to oil spills because they come into direct contact with the oil. A bird’s feathers overlap to trap air and provide the bird with warmth and buoyancy. Birds that come in contact with an oil slick may get oil on their feathers and lose their ability to stay waterproof, they may ingest oil while trying to clean their feathers or when they try to eat contaminated food, and they may suffer long-term reproductive effects.
Sea Turtles
Photo courtesy of Steve Jurvetson (cc)
Of the seven remaining species of sea turtles known today, five of those species are in the Gulf. The oil-spill area is one of the only foraging grounds for the most endangered species of the bunch, the Kemp’s ridley turtle, which is in its peak-nesting season. One of its two primary migration routes runs south of Mississippi. Loggerhead turtles, also endangered, feed in the warm waters in the Gulf between May and October.
The seven species that can be found today have been around for 120 million years (longer than the dinosaurs)—and many of these species live up to eighty years.
Whales and Dolphins
Photo courtesy of Fritz Gellar-Grimm (cc)
A total of twenty-one whale and dolphin species that routinely inhabit the northern Gulf are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and two whale species may be in the area of the spill: Bryde’s whales and endangered sperm whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The greatest threat is if whales get oil in the filtering structure in their mouths, which could lead to starvation and death, notes the New York Times.
