Abstract
This article discusses the effects that the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska's Prince William Sound is having on sea otters. It has been 15 years since the Exxon Valdez oiled Alaska's Prince William Sound, and more than 12 since the last of the official restoration workers took off their orange slickers and headed home. But at least one cleanup crew never left the Sound: sea otters. Ecologists are left with a dilemma: remove the oil (and possibly cause more harm to the Sound) or let the animals continue to do the dirty work and pay the price. These excavations release oil from surrounding sediment, helping it disperse, explains U.S. Geological Survey research wildlife biologist James L. Bodkin. Decreasing levels of an enzyme called cytochrome P450-1A in the animals' blood, produced in response to toxic chemicals, indicate that an end to the prolonged oil exposure is near, according to USGS physiologist Brenda E. Ballachey and Purdue University pathologist Paul W. Snyder.
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