Christine Hale Oil Spill Science Outreach Specialist Texas Sea Grant January 13 th 2015

Transcription

1 Christine Hale Oil Spill Science Outreach Specialist Texas Sea Grant January 13 th 2015

2 roadmap GoMRI & Sea Grant Oil spill science Next steps Questions & feedback

3 Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) $500 Million, 10-year investment Non-penalty funds >$170 (+$140) Million allocated already 380+ publications, to date Management 20-member, independent research board Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) administer and manage the research program Goal Improve society s ability to understand, respond to, and mitigate the effects of petroleum pollution and related stressors Learn more at gulfresearchinitiative.org

4 GoMRI s Five Theme Areas 1. Physical distribution and dilution of oil, gas, and dispersants. 2. Chemical and biological degradation of the oil and dispersants and interaction with coastal, open-ocean, and deepwater ecosystems. 3. Environmental effects of the oil and dispersants system on the sea floor, water column, coastal waters, habitats, and organisms and ecosystem recovery. 4. Technology developments for improved response, mitigation, detection, characterization, and remediation associated with oil spills and gas releases. 5. Impact of oil spills on public health including behavioral, socioeconomic, environmental risk assessment, community capacity.

5 GoMRI-supported outreach activities Consortia-led outreach K-12 education Grad/undergrad research assistants General public Still many other audiences that can use GoMRI research results

6 Oil Spill Science Outreach Program Sea Grant GoMRI Partnership Who is Sea Grant? Mission: Enhance the practical use and conservation of coastal, marine and Great Lakes resources in order to create a sustainable economy and environment Support: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) & state

7 Oil Spill Science Outreach Program Sea Grant GoMRI Partnership Gulf Sea Grant College Programs 4 specialists devoted to sharing oil spill science, 1 part-time coordinator Initial 2 year investment Major components Two-way transfer of information Identify target audience needs Share oil spill science Evaluation

8 Elected officials Emergency responders/managers Our audiences Port and harbor employees Public health officials Environmental non-profit Tourism industry staff GoMRI outreach Fishing industry specialists A BP decontamination Natural resource facility in the Pascagoula University/college River, MS. Credit: NOAA. managers researchers Booms made out of pom-poms are set to protect the sandy beach area. Credit: NOAA. Researchers discuss field observations with NOAA's Natural Resources Damage Assessment. Credit: NOAA.

9 Informal input sessions Stakeholder needs

10 Outreach Team outputs Bulletins (12) Focused on science topics identified by our audiences Coming soon! Dispersant Series Role in oil spill response Fate, transport and effectiveness Impact to aquatic life Fisheries Series Fisheries management Fisheries impacts from spill lesions Oil Encounters Series Top 5 frequently asked questions NOAA

11 Outreach Team outputs Science Seminars/Input sessions (12) Presentations by experts Continue to identify needs of coastal audiences Coming soon! Habitat Series: Impacts of oil/dispersants on coastal wetlands, beaches, inshore, benthic Response techniques Ocean circulation and modeling Other - Website, mailing list, etc. Grand Isle, LA - NOAA

12 Social Network Analysis Evaluation Identify key stakeholders and/or agencies that are delivering oil spill science

13 GoMRI output: Searchable database research.gulfresearchinitiative.org

14 GoMRI output: the Data Cooperative data.gulfresearchinitiative.org

15 GoMRI output: Ocean Portal ocean.si.edu/gulf-oil-spillinteractive

16 So what are the impacts? Public health Fisheries Environmental

17 Oil Impacts on Coastal Wetlands: Implications for the Mississippi River Delta Ecosystem after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Mendelssohn et al BioScience

18 Mississippi River Delta System & the Fertile Fisheries Crescent These coastal wetlands constitute almost 40% of the coastal wetlands of the 48 coterminous US Ecosystem services: storm protection, water quality enhancement, faunal support, etc. ~30% of the US commercial fishery production depends on these wetlands These wetlands protect an oil & gas infrastructure that provides 1/3 of the nation s oil&gas supply and 50% nation s refining capacity

19 Potential impacts on fishery resources: the transfer to higher trophic levels Fodrie et al. 2014

20 Fodrie et al Summarized spill impact studies to individual organisms:

21 Organism level impact: fish development & function CYP1A gene expression is elevated in oiled site Oiled= GT= Grande Terre, LA Non-oiled= BLB= Bayou La Batre, LA Control= reared in lab Whitehead et al 2012

22 CYP1A response gene Image: E.S. Maung-Douglass, with contributions from: D. Tracey, J. Thomas, T.Saxby (IAN-UMCES Image Library)

23 Organism level impact: fish development & function (cont.) Developing embryos incubated in oiled marsh waters for 24 days had increased CYP1A expression (Whitehead et al 2012) Adults from oiled sites expressed altered regulation of genes associated with blood and blood vessel maintenance (Whitehead et al 2012) Embryos exposed for 21 days to oiled sediments had reduced hatch rates, a smaller size at hatch, reduced heart rates, poor vigor, and increased regulation of CYP1A gene (Dubansky et al 2013)

24 Impact at a population or community level? The spill coincided w/ peak spawning of important fishery species- shrimp, blue crab, and spotted seatrout Currents carried oil from deep water into shallow nursery areas Eggs & larvae exposed to DWH oil have shown negative impacts

25 Fodrie & Heck Jr. 2011: Response of Coastal Fishes to the GOM Oil Disaster

26 NO Direct oil impact: community wide Fodrie & Heck 2011 sampled fish pre & post spill did not find short term negative impacts on juvenile fishes associated w/inshore seagrass beds catch rates were high in 2010 after the spill compared to previous 4 years. Ecosystem-level impacts not severe for this community of fishes

27 Community-wide impact? Moody et al Results show little evidence for large-scale acute or persistent oil-induced impacts on organisms that complete their life cycle within the estuary and those that spent portions of their life history in offshore surface waters prior to their recruitment to near-shore habitats.

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29 Public Health Cope et al 2013: Community attachment is a foundation of community resilience. Negative mental and physical health were significantly more pronounced during baseline survey compared to later on. Greater levels of community attachment are linked to lower levels of negative health impacts in the wake of the DH oil spill. Community attachment provided a shielding effect from negative impacts on mental health as time passed. Community attachment enabled negative mental and physical health impacts on fishers as time passed.

30 Galveston oil spill 2014: opportunity to engage

31 In summary: Long term studies needed in all theme areas Short term results for the Environmental theme show inconsistent impacts at the fish community & population levels Human resilience to disaster is dependent on community attachment but fishers have a unique challenge regardless of attachment

32 What do we need? insights from local key informants, maintain a culturallysensitive approach/a one-size fits all approach may not work (Lee & Blanchard 2012) Future research should include measures of trust and social networks involved with disaster resilience (Cope et al. 2013) more research focus and feedback re: spill recovery workers (Lee & Blanchard 2012; Petersen et al. 2012; Murawski & Hogarth 2013) Photos: Jeff Adams, USFWS

33 TMN Opportunities? On the ground restoration projects Citizen Science: long-term monitoring project? Get Involved, Stay Informed Stay tuned for education & outreach opportunities coming from the Sea Grant Oil Spill Outreach Team

34 Photo: Jeff Adams, USFWS Questions? We welcome your feedback!

35 Team contact information Stephen Sempier (Regional Coordinator) Christine Hale (TX) Emily Maung-Douglass (LA) Larissa Graham (MS-AL) Monica Wilson (FL)

36 References Cope et al Cope, M. R., Slack, T., Blanchard, T. C., & Lee, M. R. (2013). Does time heal all wounds? Community attachment, natural resource employment, and health impacts in the wake of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster. Social Science Research, 42(3), Dubansky et al Dubansky, B., Whitehead, A., Miller, J., Rice, C. D., & Galvez, F. (2013). Multi-tissue molecular, genomic, and developmental effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on resident Gulf killifish (Fundulus grandis). Environ. Sci. Technol.,47(10), Fodrie & Heck Jr Fodrie, F. J., Heck, K. L. (2011). Response of Coastal Fishes to the Gulf of Mexico Oil Disaster. PLoS ONE,6(7), e Fodrie et al Fodrie, F. J., Able, K. W., Galvez, F., Heck Jr., K. L., Jensen, O. P., Lopez-Duarte, P. C., et al. (2014). Integrating organismal and population responses of estuarine fishes to the Macondo spill reveals research priorities in the Gulf of Mexico.BioScience, 64(9), Lee & Blanchard 2012 Lee, M. R., & Blanchard, T. C. (2012). Community Attachment and Negative Affective States in the Context of the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster. American Behavioral Scientist, 56(1), Mendelssohn et al Mendelssohn, I. A., Anderson, G. L., Baltz, D. A., Caffey, R. H., Fleeger, J. W., Joye, S. B., et al. (2012). Oil Impacts on Coastal Wetlands: Implications for the Mississippi River Delta Ecosystem after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. BioScience,62(6), Moody et al Moody, R. M., Cebrian, J., Heck, K. L., & Browman, H. (2013). Interannual Recruitment Dynamics for Resident and Transient Marsh Species: Evidence for a Lack of Impact by the Macondo Oil Spill. PLoS ONE, 8(3), e Murawski & Hogarth 2013 Murawski, S., & Hogarth, W. (2013). Enhancing the Ocean Observing System to Meet Restoration Challenges in the Gulf of Mexico. oceanog, 26(1), Petersen et al Peterson, C. H., Anderson, S. S., Cherr, G. N., Ambrose, R. F., Anghera, S., Bay, S., et al. (2012). A Tale of Two Spills: Novel Science and Policy Implications of an Emerging New Oil Spill Model. BioScience, 62(5), Whitehead et al Whitehead, A., Dubansky, B., Bodinier, C., Garcia, T. I., Miles, S., Pilley, C., et al. (2012). Genomic and physiological footprint of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on resident marsh fishes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,109(50),