The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) is pleased to announce a new Sea Grant publication that discusses various ways that oil exposure can impact mangroves, which have partially submerged root systems that make them especially sensitive to contaminants.
A team of marine scientists, led by representatives of the University of South Florida, are about midway through a six-week expedition looking for evidence left over from the two largest accidental oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico.
In mangroves behind Vizcaya, plastic bottles, tampon applicators and bits of styrofoam regularly get trapped in the tangle of roots as if captured in a storm drain. Out the mouth of the Miami River and across Biscayne Bay on Miami Beach, stormwater flushes human and animal wastes and an array of foul stuff. On Virginia Key, a vial of blood sticks out of the sand.
Scientists evaluated the effects of oil contamination on coastal mangrove plants. Their partially-submerged root system makes them vulnerable to pollutants. Scientists found that oil coated the mangrove roots and reduced water transport, leading to rapid plant dehydration.