Disaster for birds, leading bird conservation group releases list of bird sites most threatened

[G_j]

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/bird-refuge-louisiana.html#cr

Bird sites most at risk from Gulf oil spill


May 2010. American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the USA's leading bird conservation organization, has released a list of key bird sites they say are most immediately threatened by the ongoing Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf. The sites have been previously designated as Globally Important Bird Areas by the organization, and are directly in the path of the advancing oil slick.

"This spill spells disaster for birds in this region and beyond," said ABC President George Fenwick. "It is ironic that next weekend is International Migratory Bird Day. At a time when we should be celebrating the beauty and wonder of migratory birds, we could be mourning the worst environmental disaster in recent U.S. history."


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All coastal nesting species (herons, terns, skimmers, plovers, gulls, rails, ducks) are currently present on the Gulf Coast, including several species on the U.S. WatchList of birds of conservation concern. The impact to these species depends on how long the leak lasts and what happens with weather and currents. The leak could persist for weeks or months, and end up being the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.

Species particularly susceptible to pollution

For species with long lifespans and low reproductive rates (e.g., Reddish Egrets, Least Terns), acute mortality events such as this can have long-term population-level impacts if they affect a large proportion of the breeding population. This is because the adults that survive do not produce young quickly enough for populations to recovery quickly.

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Compounding problems for songbirds, not normally directly affected by oil spills, is the smoke billowing skywards from the burning oil that was set alight to try to minimize damage to marine life.

"Millions of songbirds are crossing the Gulf now, and will arrive Stateside perilously weak and undernourished from their journey. The smoke may well compound their precarious situation and potentially lead to birds failing to make it to shore, or arriving so weakened that they are unable to survive," said Fenwick.

[postulater]

1. Aaaaarrrrrrgggghhhh!

:mad:

[earth mom]

5. And

:cry:

[amborin]

2. K&R

[G_j]

3. ==

[G_j]

4. The BP Oil Spill’s Toll On Gulf Coast Wildlife: ‘All Bets Are Off’

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/05/08/oil-spill-animals/


The BP Oil Spill’s Toll On Gulf Coast Wildlife: ‘All Bets Are Off’

Orange-colored oil from the April 22 BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico has reached Louisiana’s fragile Chandeleur Islands, which are part of the Breton National Wildlife Refuge, an area that officials have now closed so that nesting sea birds will be undisturbed and to “allow cleanup operations continue uninhibited.” Environmentalists are increasingly worried about the toll the spill will take on more than 400 species in this rich nursery area. As Nancy Rabalais, a scientist who heads the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, said, “The magnitude and the potential for ecological damage is probably more great than anything we’ve ever seen in the Gulf of Mexico.”

ThinkProgress’ Brad Johnson was blogging from the Gulf Coast and spoke with Gulf Coast marine scientists who all agreed that the “unfolding oil disaster could mean devastation beyond human comprehension” and “all bets are off.” Ichthyologist Bruce Comyns, a research scientist at the University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Research Laboratory elaborated on the devastating impact the spill may have on the region:

This is “the worst time” of year that this disaster could have begun, Dr. Comyns said, as this is the peak of the spawning and nesting season for marine wildlife in the Gulf, from fish to turtles to dolphins. As he has done in previous years, Dr. Comyns was planning to head out into the Gulf of Mexico to sample larval fishes from the edges of the Loop Current — a research trip that now has newly critical and disturbing import.

A look at what is happening to animals in the Gulf region, and the potential for more disaster:
..more..

[intheflow]

6. This needs to be it's own post.

Have you posted it on DU where I can rec it?

[G_j]

7. done,