A Synthesis of Top-Down and Bottom-Up Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Using Ecosystem Modeling

Abstract

The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) triggered the largest response to a spill in US history (Levy and Gopalakrishnan, J Nat Resources Pol Res, 2(3):297–315, 2010; Barron, Toxicol Pathol 40(2):315–320, 2012). The cumulative research from this response has resulted in hundreds of publications describing the range of impacts from the DWH event on various components of the system. An ecosystem-based approach to assessing the consequences of the DWH oil spill can help to address non-linear and ecosystem-level interactions (reviewed by Curtin and Prellezo, Mar Policy 34(5):821–830, 2010) and would be a key step toward integrating the knowledge gained from research efforts. Whereas Ainsworth et al. (PLoS One 13(1):e0190840, 2018) tested top-down effects of the oil spill on fish abundance and mortality, this chapter represents a synthesis of bottom-up and top-down effects across a broader range of taxa. Bottom-up effects relate to the accumulation of detrital biomass and oil on the seafloor as a result of marine oil snow sedimentation and flocculent accumulation (MOSSFA).