Researchers have found that over 60% of marine iguanas were killed on a Galapagos island contaminated by a relatively small oil spill. The oil tanker 'Jessica' ran aground on a reef one kilometer off San Cristobal Island in January 2001 and spilled over two million liters of heavy bunker oil used by live-aboards and other tourist boats that operate in the islands. Ocean currents carried most of the oil away from the islands but not all of it. Now researchers are learning that even extremely small amounts of contaminants can harm marine species. Martin Wikelski of Princeton University, who has been studying Galapagos marine iguanas since 1987, told CDNN that although iguanas were not immediately affected by the spill, 62% had died on Santa Fe Island by December, almost a year after the disaster. Conversely, on Genovesa Island, which was unaffected by the spill, there was no decline in the iguana population. That fact and the discovery that the stomachs of dead Santa Fe iguanas were full of undigested algae, has led Wikelski to conclude that oil killed fermentation bacteria in the guts of the animals. The bacteria enables iguanas to digest algae. Although Galapagos marine iguanas were not endangered by the Jessica oil spill, the devastation to the Santa Fe population indicates that even relatively small oil spills can be extremely dangerous to affected animals. | | Oil tanker Jessica aground on Galapagos reef Lawsuits Wikelski's experiments were ruined by the spill and he is seeking $600,000 in damages as part of a $14 million lawsuit filed by the Galapagos National Park against the owners, operators and insurers of the Jessica as well as Petrocomercial, which owned the oil. The claims cover the cost of cleaning up the spill, monitoring its effects, financial losses to the tourism and fishing industries, and irreparable damage to the image of the Galapagos as a pristine eco tour destination. |
