PROTECTING THE PLANET
AFTER THE SPILL
Oil spills leave environmental hazards long after clean up .
Photo : Emily Kelly
BY CHRISTINA WU
IMAGINE A BOY ENJOYING a seemingly healthy childhood despite living in a city rife with smog . The years pass and the the boy grows and moves away to the fresh air of the country , only to develop smog-related respiratory issues years after exposure . This situation is well known to happen in humans , yet research from Scripps Institution of Oceanography has uncovered an environmental analogue in corals .
In April 2012 , Aaron Hartmann , SIO M . S . ’ 10 , Ph . D . ’ 14 was a graduate student finishing his final field season on the Caribbean island of Curaçao when an oil spill covered an area roughly the size of 30 soccer fields . The spill occurred just weeks prior to the annual spawning season for many corals , prompting Hartmann and colleagues to test how lingering oil contamination affects corals during their earliest life stages .
Their research concluded that the oil spill profoundly affected the ability of coral larvae to transition to their adult stage , and that this response only became apparent after , rather than during , the time when larvae were exposed to oil-contaminated water .
When corals reproduce , their eggs amass at the sea surface and , after fertilization , larvae swim for days near the surface before they “ settle ” down to the reef and become adults through metamorphosis .
Rather than test only the immediate and direct effects that toxins have on the animals , Hartmann and colleagues examined the response of larvae during and after exposure to oil . Higher larval death rates arose more than a week after exposure to oil had ended . In addition to killing larvae , oil exposure dramatically hindered the ability of larvae to settle on the seafloor , causing added stress to a species already endangered by development , overfishing and disease .
“ The greatest limitation of environmental impact assessments following catastrophic events is that most aren ’ t designed to measure damage to ecosystems beyond the immediate aftermath ,” says Hartmann . “ We found that long-term ill effects of oil contamination on coral larvae can be quite large . By not including post-event or post-exposure harm in environmental impact assessments , we miss much of the damage done by events like oil spills .”
The Dry Marine Biologist
One would think studying corals would require getting in the field , i . e . underwater . Not so for Aaron Hartmann . He was born with Marfan syndrome , a genetic disorder that affects connective tissue throughout the body — especially the heart — making activities like SCUBA hazardous .
Rather than take the plunge , Hartmann is a “ dry ” scientist , conducting coral studies on land and working with diving scientists who collect
specimens underwater .
“ I have to be more collaborative and share resources ,” he says . “ It ’ s a valuable lesson for us all to learn .”
Hartmann uses his condition to show students that limitations shouldn ’ t keep them from studying science . He ’ s brought his research into local high schools , delivering a hands-on experience that gets students excited even far from a coral reef .
CORAL CASUALTIES Joint research from Scripps Institution of Oceanography , the CARMABI Foundation and the University of Amsterdam has revealed that oil spills negatively affect coral larvae long after initial clean up .
Photo : Kristen Marhaver
See Hartmann inspire students at San Marcos ’ High Tech High School with his research at : TRITONMAG . COM / DRYSCI
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