Atkins, Jacksonville, FL 32256, USA.
Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2020 Nov;160:111581. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111581. Epub 2020 Sep 2.
Prior studies indicated salt marsh periwinkles (Littoraria irrorata) were strongly impacted in heavily oiled marshes for at least 5 years following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Here, we detail longer-term effects and recovery over nine years. Our analysis found that neither density nor population size structure recovered at heavily oiled sites where snails were smaller and variability in size structure and density was increased. Total aboveground live plant biomass and stem density remained lower over time in heavily oiled marshes, and we speculate that the resulting more open canopy stimulated benthic microalgal production contributing to high spring periwinkle densities or that the lower stem density reduced the ability of subadults and small adults to escape predation. Our data indicate that periwinkle population recovery may take one to two decades after the oil spill at moderately oiled and heavily oiled sites, respectively.
先前的研究表明，在深水地平线石油泄漏事件发生后的至少 5 年内，盐沼海兔（Littoraria irrorata）在重度油污的沼泽中受到了严重影响。在这里，我们详细介绍了九年来的长期影响和恢复情况。我们的分析发现，在油污严重的地区，蜗牛体型较小，体型结构和密度的变异性增加，密度和种群大小结构都没有恢复。随着时间的推移，重度油污沼泽地上方的总活体植物生物量和茎密度仍然较低，我们推测，由此产生的更开阔的树冠刺激了底栖微藻的产生，从而导致春季海兔密度较高，或者较低的茎密度降低了亚成体和小成体逃避捕食的能力。我们的数据表明，在中度和重度油污地区，海兔种群的恢复可能分别需要石油泄漏后的一到二十年。
