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A Synthesis Of Deep Benthic Faunal Impacts And Resilience Following The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Patrick T. Schwing, Paul A. Montagna, Samantha B. Joye, Claire B. Paris, Erik E. Cordes, Craig R. Mcclain, Joshua P. Kilborn, Steven A. Murawski

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill significantly impacted the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM) deep benthos (>125 m water depth) at different spatial scales and across all community size and taxa groups including microbes, foraminifera, meiofauna, macrofauna, megafauna, corals, and demersal fishes. The resilience across these communities was heterogeneous, with some requiring years if not decades to fully recover. To synthesize ecosystem impacts and recovery following DWH, the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GOMRI) Core 3 synthesis group subdivided the nGoM into four ecotypes: coastal, continental shelf, open-ocean, and deep benthic. Here we present a synopsis of the deep …