The Effects Of Oil Spill On The Niger River Delta

Massive cleanup efforts were initiated within a few weeks of the spill and they continued at reduced levels for the next three years. Approximately 14% of the spilled oil was recovered by cleanup crews (Newsweek, p.50). As a result of these efforts and natural weathering, little oil from the spill remained in the affected area by 1992. However, according to the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration some oil residues are still found under the ocean surface in areas sheltered from wind and waves. Yet, these residues are highly weathered and the toxicity is reduced to levels tolerable by organisms in the water (7). Nonetheless, the magnitude and timing of the Exxon Valdez oil spill raised immediate concerns about possible effects on marine fish and wildlife and prospects that these effects might be long lasting.

The study conducted by McKew et al. examined the efficiency of degradation of n-alkanes (or straight-chain hydrocarbons) in response to various types of intervention strategies. It is somewhat established that the native marine bacteria may not be able to degrade the constituents of crude oil spills without the aid of microorganisms that are specialized in disintegrating hydrocarbons – Hydocarbonoclastic bacteria, or HCBs. McKew et al.’s study quantifies this

On April 20, 2010 the Macondo Blowout, the largest accidental oil spill in the GoM and the second largest in the world, released an estimated 4.9 million barrels of crude oil (Atlas and Hazen 2011). This significant ecological perturbation of the sea and coastal region has led to negative impacts in local fishing, aquaculture and tourism (National Health Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (US) Gulf Ecology Division 1999; Yanez-Arancibia and Day 2004; Arreguin-Sanchez et al. 2004; Ritchie and Keller 2008). Since the occurrence of the oil spill, most studies used molecular approaches including NextGen sequencing technology to assess the diversity and metabolism of complex microbial communities in oil-contaminated environments, particularly samples collected from off-shore locations surrounding the Macondo Blowout (Evans et al. 2004; Bordenave et al. 2007; Cappello et al. 2007; Liang et al. 2007; dos Santos et al. 2011;

Alford, J. B., Peterson, M. K., Green, C. C. (2014). Lessons from the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: A Biological Perspective. In J.B. Alford (Ed.), Impacts of Oil Spill Disasters on Marine Habitats and Fisheries in North America. (pp. 101- 123). Anchorage, AK: CRC Press.

Oil constantly surrounds consumers throughout the world, whether it be in transportation, electricity, and heating. Since consumers use, transportation, electricity, and heating every day, the demand for oil has surged and thus, multiple companies race to provide this dark elixir promptly. As all thoughts concentrate on the speed in which oil becomes transported, reckless mistakes happen, which swiftly unleashes the toxic elixir into the ocean. The oil then resides in the water with death looming over its shoulder; countless birds, mammals, and fish become poisoned by the oil, which proves lethal. However, an antidote, colonies of microscopic bacteria that consume oil can be used to clean the oil pollution. Although oil satisfies humans with

This oil causes harm to the gulf ecosystem. As earlier showed by the numbers of wildlife that were deceased. In addition to the wildlife immediately dying, the oil can have

In Santa Barbara, California, in 1969, even though the spilled oil was not even very large, thousands of dolphins, seals, and birds were killed (Ivanovich, and Hays, 2008). Moreover, in the Gulf of Mexico, 82,000 birds, roughly 6,165 sea turtles, approximately 25,900 marine mammals, and indefinite amount of oysters, fishes, corals, and crabs have been harmed or killed by the spilled oil. Additionally, the spilled has killed many aquatic plants. ( A Center for Biological Diversity Report, 2008). As a result, vegetation, which are the most essential part of the ecological pyramid, and other animals will be affected negatively by the dangerous impact of the spilled oil, which probably is going to cause some problems in the ecological pyramid. In fact, any defect in the ecological pyramid may become a dreadful problem that occurs an ecological

This paper is about the effects of offshore drilling particularly it discusses “oil spills caused by offshore drilling in California”. These oil spills that are caused by offshore drilling affect the environment in the long run. Even some of these impacts on the environment by oil spills last for decades (Larry West). For example when an oil slick arrives at the beach from a huge oil spill then it sticks to each grain of the sand and every rock. So if this oil is absorbed by the forests or fibrous plants etc. then it can make the whole area unsuitable for wildlife. Moreover if this oil spills stops and sinks in the surface of the water then these oil spills damage the fragile ecosystems under water and can prove extremely dangerous to marine life (Jennifer Horton).

In this essay, I will be answering two questions; How do prokaryotic organisms differ from eukaryotic organisms in their ability to clean up crude oil in marine environments? What were some of the challenges these scientists faced when figuring out how microbes could clean up the Horizon Oil Spill, and whether these microbes would can restore the natural balance afterwards?

The oil also has a physical and physiological effect including irritation, inflammation, or necrosis of the skin, chemical burns, ingestion of oil/dispersants can lead to inflammation, ulcers, bleeding, as well as possible damage to liver, kidneys, and brain tissue. It can also cause disfunction of the immune and reproductive system. The wildlife can become physiologically stressed, their physical condition will ultimately decline, and some may even die. The oil spill has additionally had an extensive effect on the ecosystem as a whole. An ecosystem can be defined as a biological environment consisting of all the organism living in a particular area, as well as the non-living physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact. Experts predict that the ecosystem could require years or even decades to fully recover since there is a chance of biomagnification. Biomagnification occurs once a PBT(Persistent Bioaccumalative substances) have piled up in one part of the ecosystem the substance becomes concentrated from one link in the food web to the next. It can affect entire populations and threaten biodiversity in “insidious, sub-lethal” ways. In addition to the possibility of biomagnification the oil causes

Nigeria's Niger Delta is one of the most oil-polluted places on the planet with more than 6,800 recorded oil spills. Millions of barrels of oil were spilled into the Niger Delta.. Some people inhabit the land around it. The water is there main resource to use. They use it for irrigation, drinking, and bathing. They use the water for their everyday needs. The water is too polluted for them to drink anymore and they can’t use the water for irrigation because it is killing all of their crops. Multiple people have suffered from illnesses from drinking the oil polluted water. Cleanups don’t “clean” the land very well even though they are supposed to clean deep into the ground. A percent of Nigerian mangrove ecosystems have been destroyed out by oil. The known effects of oil on mangroves are making the soil into acid, stop cellular respiration, and they do not let the roots get oxygen. The loss of mangrove forests does not only decrease the life of plants and animals. They also affect humans. The indigenous people living in the affected areas highly value these systems. The local people by the mangrove forest use the wood as a major

Bacterial enzymes will catalyze the insertion of oxygen into the hydrocarbon so that the molecule can subsequently be consumed by cellular metabolism. Because of this oxygen is one of the most important requirements for the biodegradation of oil. Table 1 shows the list of some of the microorganisms which are involved in the bioremediation of oil contamination.

The 3 main goals of this experiment were to measure the efficiency of the petroleum degradation, look at the microbial activity and communities and figure out the impact bioremediation may have on them (Manli Wu, 2017). Lastly, to consider the removal of petroleum hydrocarbons and how that will impact the shifts of microbial communities (Manli Wu, 2017).

The rapid growth of human population and industrialization has lead to the environmental pollution and the world is facing problems with a wide variety of pollution (Kshirsagar, 2013). The release of wastewater poses serious environmental challenges to the receiving water bodies (De-Bashan et al., 2002). Today, the demand for clean water is increasing worldwide and the main challenge of wastewater treatment is not only to produce clean water but it also support new developments (Velan and Saravanane, 2013). The process of bioremediation depends on the metabolic potential of microorganisms to detoxify or transform the pollutant, which is further dependent on accessibility and bioavailability (Bhatnagar and Kumari, 2013). Remediation can be enhanced by the addition of various microorganisms, called seeding or inoculation, to a polluted environment to promote increased rate of biodegradation (Antizar-Ladislao et al., 2008).

Over the years cases have been heard of destruction of the fertile area of Niger delta due to oil spills. The most affected area is in Nigeria where reports state that there have been more than 400 tons spills. The major reason given behind the spills is due to human mistakes. In a report provided by the national oil spills detection in Nigeria indicated that there were more than 1200 oil spill sites that had been left out by the oil companies by the year 2008 along the Niger delta. Even though the Niger delta from a front view shows the pace to good looking due to the green pastures found in the area, but in detailed review there have been severe damage inside the area since the fish that could be surviving have already died,