Long-term effects of the ‘Exxon Valdez’ oil spill: sea otter foraging in the intertidal as a pathway of exposure to lingering oil

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 447:273-287 (2012) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09523 Long-term effects of the ‘Exxon Valdez’ oil spill: sea otter foraging in the intertidal as a pathway of exposure to lingering oil James L. Bodkin1,*, Brenda E. Ballachey1, Heather A. Coletti3, George G. Esslinger1, Kimberly A. Kloecker1, Stanley D. Rice2, John A. Reed1, Daniel H. Monson1 1US Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, 4210 University Drive, Anchorage, Alaska 99508, USA2Auke Bay Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service, Juneau, Alaska 99801, USA 3Present address: SW Alaska Network, National Park Service, Anchorage, Alaska 99501, USA *Email: jbodkin@usgs.gov ABSTRACT: The protracted recovery of some bird and mammal populations in western Prince William Sound (WPWS), Alaska, and the persistence of spilled ‘Exxon Valdez’ oil in intertidal sediments, suggests a pathway of exposure to consumers that occupy nearshore habitats. To evaluate the hypothesis that sea otter (Enhydra lutris) foraging allows access to lingering oil, we contrast spatial relations between foraging behavior and documented oil distribution. We recovered archival time-depth recorders implanted in 19 sea otters in WPWS, where lingering oil and de­layed ecosystem recovery are well documented. Sea otter foraging dives ranged from +2.7 to −92 m below sea level (MLLW), with intertidal accounting for 5 to 38% of all foraging. On average, female sea otters made 16050 intertidal dives per year and 18% of these dives were at depths above the +0.80 m tidal elevation. Males made 4100 intertidal dives per year and 26% of intertidal foraging took place at depths above the +0.80 m tidal elevation. Estimated annual oil encounter rates ranged from 2 to 24 times yr−1 for females, and 2 to 4 times yr−1 for males. Exposure rates increased in spring when intertidal foraging doubled and females were with small pups. In summer 2008, we found sea otter foraging pits on 13.5 of 24.8 km of intertidal shoreline surveyed. Most pits (82%) were within 0.5 m of the zero tidal elevation and 15% were above 0.5 m, the level above which most (65%) lingering oil remains. In August 2008, we detected oil above background concentrations in 18 of 41 (44%) pits excavated by sea otters on beaches with prior evidence of oiling, with total PAH concentrations up to 56000 ng g−1 dry weight. Our estimates of intertidal foraging, the widespread presence of foraging pits in the intertidal, and the presence of oil in and near sea otter foraging pits documents a pathway of exposure from lingering intertidal oil to sea otters ­foraging in WPWS. KEY WORDS: Sea otter · ‘Exxon Valdez’ · Oil spill · Enhydra lutris · Time-depth recorder · TDR Full text in pdf format See Comment and Reply Comment on this article PreviousNextCite this article as: Bodkin JL, Ballachey BE, Coletti HA, Esslinger GG and others (2012) Long-term effects of the ‘Exxon Valdez’ oil spill: sea otter foraging in the intertidal as a pathway of exposure to lingering oil. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 447:273-287. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09523 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 447. Online publication date: February 13, 2012 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2012 Inter-Research.