{"id":2482,"date":"2010-10-10T01:51:41","date_gmt":"2010-10-10T01:51:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/?p=2482"},"modified":"2010-10-10T01:54:40","modified_gmt":"2010-10-10T01:54:40","slug":"national-wildlife-federation-scientist-finds-deadly-effects-of-dispersant-used-in-gulf-oil-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/2010\/10\/10\/national-wildlife-federation-scientist-finds-deadly-effects-of-dispersant-used-in-gulf-oil-disaster\/","title":{"rendered":"National Wildlife Federation: Scientist Finds Deadly Effects of Dispersant Used in Gulf Oil Disaster"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nDr. Goodbody-Gringley points out baby Montastraea<\/p>\n

http:\/\/blog.nwf.org\/wildlifepromise\/2010\/10\/scientist-finds-deadly-effects-of-dispersant-used-in-gulf-oil-disaster\/<\/p>\n

from Wildlife Promise
\n10\/8\/2010 \/\/ Bob Serata \/\/ <\/p>\n

In the cramped lab at Mote Marine Laboratory\u2019s Tropical Research Lab on Summerland Key in the Florida Keys, Dr. Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley and her team saw firsthand the effects of Corexit 9500 chemical dispersant on the settlement and survival of coral larvae. It wasn\u2019t pretty.<\/p>\n

Two corals were selected for the experiments: mustard hill coral (Porites asteroides), and mountainous star coral (Montastraea faveola).<\/p>\n

Montastraea is of particular interest because it is one of the corals that populates the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (NMS) located in the northwestern Gulf, an area close to the BP oil spill. But both corals can be found throughout the Florida Keys NMS which was spared a direct hit and is the subject of much \u201cwhat if\u201d research.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe chose the mustard hill because it is a brooder,\u201d said Goodbody-Gringley. \u201cIt goes through internal fertilization and releases mature larvae into the water so the larvae are presumably able to settle and start forming into adult colonies immediately after release.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStar coral is a broadcaster. It releases sperm and eggs into the water column which then fertilize and the larvae develop in the water. Broadcasters are generally thought to be more fragile than the brooders because larvae have to develop in the water, so they\u2019re exposed to the elements,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The team used concentrations of Corexit set by an independent panel of scientists who work with the EPA to determine ecologically relevant concentrations of the chemical \u2014 the concentration in sea water as days and months pass.<\/p>\n

One experiment measured the settlement (larvae settling on a substrate to start growing) and survival (still living in the water column) of coral larvae after exposure to oil, oil-plus-dispersant and dispersant-alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn both the oil-plus-dispersant and the dispersant-alone samples survival and settlement were extremely low,\u201d said Goodbody-Gringley. \u201cIn fact, in the high concentrations that we used [to mimic the early days of an oil spill] we had 100% mortality,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

A separate experiment was designed to mimic the effects of an oil spill and response with dispersant on coral larvae in the water column. A time frame of five days was used to represent the normal longevity of coral larvae in the water column. Water was added to the initial concentration each day to correspond to the continued dilution of the chemical. Measurements were then taken at the end of the five day period.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese results actually mirrored the settlement results,\u201d said Goodbody-Gringley. \u201cWe found lower survival in the presence of oil and much lower survival in the presence of dispersant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pressed for exact percentages of mortality, Dr. Goodbody-Gringley would only say \u201cextremely high.\u201d About survival rates she said, \u201cextremely low.\u201d<\/p>\n

The experiments are still proceeding through analyses in preparation for submission to peer review, which is why Dr. Goodbody-Gringley hesitates to quote actual numbers. The paper is expected to be submitted within a month or two, though (if accepted) might be published sometime in 2011.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe survival of larvae is particularly important because this is the one time in the coral\u2019s life when a new coral will be formed,\u201d she said. \u201cWithout this critical stage a reef can\u2019t maintain itself. Eventually the reef would die if there is no reproduction happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Special thanks to Erika Biddle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Goodbody-Gringley points out baby Montastraea http:\/\/blog.nwf.org\/wildlifepromise\/2010\/10\/scientist-finds-deadly-effects-of-dispersant-used-in-gulf-oil-disaster\/ from Wildlife Promise 10\/8\/2010 \/\/ Bob Serata \/\/ In the cramped lab at Mote Marine Laboratory\u2019s Tropical Research Lab on Summerland Key in the Florida Keys, Dr. Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley and her team saw firsthand the effects of Corexit 9500 chemical dispersant on the settlement and survival of coral … Continue reading National Wildlife Federation: Scientist Finds Deadly Effects of Dispersant Used in Gulf Oil Disaster<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2482"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2488,"href":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482\/revisions\/2488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}