July 8, 2014 – Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative

Copepod Acartia tonsa. (Image provided by Ed Buskey)

Study: Dispersant, UV Radiation Increase Oil Spill Impacts on Zooplankton but Food Web Interactions may Reduce Them

July 8, 2014

Researchers from the University of Texas Marine Science Institute, including students from California and China, assessed impacts of crude oil, dispersant, and natural phenomena on zooplankton from the Gulf of Mexico.

Kait Frasier (L) and Rachel Gottlieb (R) with Scripps Institution of Oceanography onboard the Ocean Alliance’s R/V Odyssey in the Gulf of Mexico celebrate after finding dolphins. (Photo provided by Frasier)

Grad Student Frasier is Learning What Dolphins Can Tell Us

July 8, 2014

Kait Frasier listens to Gulf marine mammals to estimate how many there are and find out if their numbers are changing after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Kait sees dolphins as a good species to study because “everyone can see and understand them, not just scientists.”