USING BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA TO DETERMINE ECOLOGICAL STATUS THROUGHOUT THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO

Benthic foraminifera, single-celled microorganisms that live in seafloor sediment, are used as bioindicators of health because of their high diversity and abundance throughout the world's oceans. Since the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) Oil Spill in 2010, abundance and diversity have been recorded across seven time-series locations in the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM). This project compares the ecological status (EcoQS) of time-series locations using an index (AMBI) calibrated for benthic foraminifera in the nGOM. The purpose is to determine which locations have the highest ecological status and what trends can be realized due to natural variability and impacts from stressors. AMBI groups species based on their sensitivity to organic carbon in the environment and calculates a quantitative value to represent the EcoQS of a location. Data has been analyzed for 2015 to 2016 and heat maps have been created to compare EcoQS trends. Over the one year (2015-2016), EcoQS decreased at all sites, although they had an extra year to recover from the oil spill, and the areas of lower ecological status shifted. In 2015, EcoQS was lowest at the DWH wellhead, with increasing health with distance from the head. In 2016, the lowest EcoQS was in the Mississippi Valley, presumably influenced by the Mississippi River. Because the lowest EcoQS values do not correspond to the wellhead, the poor ecological status may have been caused by other pollution and carbon sources associated with the Mississippi River. This study contributes to a larger effort to understand the natural variability of the nGOM.

This project is part of a greater effort at Eckerd College, called Scientists-at-Sea, with the intention of training research geologists while researching the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. For more information on our 2023 program, please visit: https://scientistatsea23.eckerd.edu/home 

For more information: trrind@eckerd.edu

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