Shark researchers study oil impact
Kim Segal and John Zarrella
CNN
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://www.cnn.com/video/us/2010/06/28/zarrrella.oil.shark.tagging.cnn.640×360.jpg caption="It's still unclear if the sharks are avoiding the oil spill" width=300 height=169]
They're at the top of the ocean's food chain - but it is still a mystery how the oil disaster is affecting the shark population in the Gulf of Mexico.
Even if sharks never touch the oil slick, their sources of oxygen and food are at risk. And a reduced shark population could impact the entire Gulf ecosystem, according to Neil Hammerschlag, a researcher at the University of Miami, who has been studying sharks for a decade - tagging them to determine their migratory patterns and other behaviors.
Today, his research focus has changed.
"The oil spill opens up a whole new avenue for critical research," says Hammerschlag.
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Filed under: Gulf Oil Spill • John Zarrella |
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I hope the researchers find that the sharks are avoiding the oil infested waters and that their food is not tainted with oil either. That would be great news for the marine life in the Gulf so far. The observation may be though that after tracking for a few days the shark disappears and never reappears – dead by oil or other forces. I hope the Gulf doesn't become the Dead Gulf after this oil spill has stopped and been cleaned up. If it does the US has lost a tremendous natural resource.
AS I HAVE STATED BEFORE; THE OCEAN IS NOT A RENEWABLE RESOURCE........