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Research team documents severe ill-effects in Barataria Bay
A bottlenose dolphin in the Gulf of Mexico. PHOTO BY BOB BERWYN
Barataria Bay (GOOGLE MAPS).
By Summit Voice
SUMMIT COUNTY — Many dolphins in Louisiana’s Barataria Bay — one of the areas hit hardest by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil catastrophe — are underweight and anemic, have low blood sugar and suffers symptoms of liver and lung disease, NOAA researchers said this week.
Nearly half of the 32 dolphins studied also have abnormally low levels of hormones that help with stress response, metabolism and immune function, biologists said, releasing preliminary results of a natural resource damage assessment to help responders deal with a steady stream of dolphin strandings along the tainted coastline. A NOAA dolphin FAQ is online here.
Barataria Bay, located in the northern Gulf of Mexico, received heavy and prolonged exposure to oil during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. A NOAA dolphin assessment work slideshow is online here. (more…)
Filed under: BP Gulf oil spill, Environment, Marine biology, oil drilling | Tagged: Barataria Bay, Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, Louisiana, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, sick dolphins | 2 Comments »
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