Ten years after the Prestige Oil Spill: seabird trophic ecology as indicator of long-term effects on the coastal marine ecosystem
Major oil spills can have long-term impacts since oil pollution does not only result in acute mortality of marine organisms, but also affects productivity levels, predator-prey dynamics, and damages habitats that support marine communities. However, despite the conservation implications of oil accid...
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ftubarcepubl:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/46943 2024-02-11T10:06:40+01:00 Ten years after the Prestige Oil Spill: seabird trophic ecology as indicator of long-term effects on the coastal marine ecosystem Moreno Carrillo, Rocío Jover Armengol, Lluís de Diez, Carmen Sardá Amills, Francisco Sanpera Trigueros, Carola 2013-10-09 10 p. application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/2445/46943 eng eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) Reproducció del document publicat a: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0077360 PLoS One, 2013, vol. 8, num. 10, p. e77360 Articles publicats en revistes (Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals) http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0077360 1932-6203 http://hdl.handle.net/2445/46943 628654 24130877 cc-by (c) Moreno Carrillo, Rocío et al., 2013 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Catàstrofe del Prestige Espanya 2002 Contaminació del mar Ocells marins Indicadors biològics Prestige oil spill Spain Marine pollution Sea birds Indicators (Biology) info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2013 ftubarcepubl https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0077360 2024-01-24T00:55:52Z Major oil spills can have long-term impacts since oil pollution does not only result in acute mortality of marine organisms, but also affects productivity levels, predator-prey dynamics, and damages habitats that support marine communities. However, despite the conservation implications of oil accidents, the monitoring and assessment of its lasting impacts still remains a difficult and daunting task. Here, we used European shags to evaluate the overall, lasting effects of the Prestige oil spill (2002) on the affected marine ecosystem. Using δ15N and Hg analysis, we trace temporal changes in feeding ecology potentially related to alterations of the food web due to the spill. Using climatic and oceanic data, we also investigate the influence of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index, the sea surface temperature (SST) and the chlorophyll a (Chl a) on the observed changes. Analysis of δ15N and Hg concentrations revealed that after the Prestige oil spill, shag chicks abruptly switched their trophic level from a diet based on a high percentage of demersal-benthic fish to a higher proportion of pelagic/semi-pelagic species. There was no evidence that Chl a, SST and NAO reflected any particular changes or severity in environmental conditions for any year or season that may explain the sudden change observed in trophic level. Thus, this study highlighted an impact on the marine food web for at least three years. Our results provide the best evidence to date of the long-term consequences of the Prestige oil spill. They also show how, regardless of wider oceanographic variability, lasting impacts on predator-prey dynamics can be assessed using biochemical markers. This is particularly useful if larger scale and longer term monitoring of all trophic levels is unfeasible due to limited funding or high ecosystem complexity. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation Dipòsit Digital de la Universitat de Barcelona PLoS ONE 8 10 e77360 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Dipòsit Digital de la Universitat de Barcelona |
op_collection_id |
ftubarcepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Catàstrofe del Prestige Espanya 2002 Contaminació del mar Ocells marins Indicadors biològics Prestige oil spill Spain Marine pollution Sea birds Indicators (Biology) |
spellingShingle |
Catàstrofe del Prestige Espanya 2002 Contaminació del mar Ocells marins Indicadors biològics Prestige oil spill Spain Marine pollution Sea birds Indicators (Biology) Moreno Carrillo, Rocío Jover Armengol, Lluís de Diez, Carmen Sardá Amills, Francisco Sanpera Trigueros, Carola Ten years after the Prestige Oil Spill: seabird trophic ecology as indicator of long-term effects on the coastal marine ecosystem |
topic_facet |
Catàstrofe del Prestige Espanya 2002 Contaminació del mar Ocells marins Indicadors biològics Prestige oil spill Spain Marine pollution Sea birds Indicators (Biology) |
description |
Major oil spills can have long-term impacts since oil pollution does not only result in acute mortality of marine organisms, but also affects productivity levels, predator-prey dynamics, and damages habitats that support marine communities. However, despite the conservation implications of oil accidents, the monitoring and assessment of its lasting impacts still remains a difficult and daunting task. Here, we used European shags to evaluate the overall, lasting effects of the Prestige oil spill (2002) on the affected marine ecosystem. Using δ15N and Hg analysis, we trace temporal changes in feeding ecology potentially related to alterations of the food web due to the spill. Using climatic and oceanic data, we also investigate the influence of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index, the sea surface temperature (SST) and the chlorophyll a (Chl a) on the observed changes. Analysis of δ15N and Hg concentrations revealed that after the Prestige oil spill, shag chicks abruptly switched their trophic level from a diet based on a high percentage of demersal-benthic fish to a higher proportion of pelagic/semi-pelagic species. There was no evidence that Chl a, SST and NAO reflected any particular changes or severity in environmental conditions for any year or season that may explain the sudden change observed in trophic level. Thus, this study highlighted an impact on the marine food web for at least three years. Our results provide the best evidence to date of the long-term consequences of the Prestige oil spill. They also show how, regardless of wider oceanographic variability, lasting impacts on predator-prey dynamics can be assessed using biochemical markers. This is particularly useful if larger scale and longer term monitoring of all trophic levels is unfeasible due to limited funding or high ecosystem complexity. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Moreno Carrillo, Rocío Jover Armengol, Lluís de Diez, Carmen Sardá Amills, Francisco Sanpera Trigueros, Carola |
author_facet |
Moreno Carrillo, Rocío Jover Armengol, Lluís de Diez, Carmen Sardá Amills, Francisco Sanpera Trigueros, Carola |
author_sort |
Moreno Carrillo, Rocío |
title |
Ten years after the Prestige Oil Spill: seabird trophic ecology as indicator of long-term effects on the coastal marine ecosystem |
title_short |
Ten years after the Prestige Oil Spill: seabird trophic ecology as indicator of long-term effects on the coastal marine ecosystem |
title_full |
Ten years after the Prestige Oil Spill: seabird trophic ecology as indicator of long-term effects on the coastal marine ecosystem |
title_fullStr |
Ten years after the Prestige Oil Spill: seabird trophic ecology as indicator of long-term effects on the coastal marine ecosystem |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ten years after the Prestige Oil Spill: seabird trophic ecology as indicator of long-term effects on the coastal marine ecosystem |
title_sort |
ten years after the prestige oil spill: seabird trophic ecology as indicator of long-term effects on the coastal marine ecosystem |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2445/46943 |
genre |
North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
op_relation |
Reproducció del document publicat a: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0077360 PLoS One, 2013, vol. 8, num. 10, p. e77360 Articles publicats en revistes (Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals) http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0077360 1932-6203 http://hdl.handle.net/2445/46943 628654 24130877 |
op_rights |
cc-by (c) Moreno Carrillo, Rocío et al., 2013 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0077360 |
container_title |
PLoS ONE |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
e77360 |
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1790604534175760384 |