Long-term ecosystem response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
The ecosystem response to the 1989 spill of oil from the Exxon Valdez into Prince William Sound, Alaska, shows that current practices for assessing ecological risks of oil in the oceans and, by extension, other toxic sources should be changed. Previously, it was assumed that impacts to populations derive almost exclusively from acute mortality. However, in the Alaskan coastal ecosystem, unexpected persistence of toxic subsurface oil and chronic exposures, even at sublethal levels, have continued to affect wildlife. Delayed population reductions and cascades of indirect effects postponed recovery. Development of ecosystem-based toxicology is required to understand and ultimately predict chronic, delayed, and indirect long-term risks and impacts.
Peterson
Charles H
CH
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Institute of Marine Sciences, Morehead City, NC 28557, USA. cpeters@email.unc.edu
Rice
Stanley D
SD
Short
Jeffrey W
JW
Esler
Daniel
D
Bodkin
James L
JL
Ballachey
Brenda E
BE
Irons
David B
DB
D000413:Alaska; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000502:physiology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D004787:Environmental Pollution; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D010578:Petroleum / Q000633:toxicity*; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000633:toxicity*; D011156:Population Density; D012098:Reproduction; D013997:Time Factors; D018675:Toxicity Tests; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*
D010578:Petroleum; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons