© AnonymousA red snapper recently caught in the Gulf of Mexico displaying abnormal black markings.
Scientists befuddled by dolphin deaths, diseased fish.On the first anniversary of the
Gulf oil spill, scientists are observing strange deaths and deformities in animals that could be related to the disaster, experts say.
In the past six months, the numbers of dolphin and sea turtle deaths in the
Gulf of Mexico (map) have risen, and some fish that inhabit the Gulf's coral reefs have developed abnormalities.
Yet projects to document and measure the oil's effects on Gulf marine life are still in the very early stages, scientists caution. Preliminary results may not be available for months, and it may be several years before any kind of scientific consensus is reached.
Such uncertainty is not unusual for oil-spill studies, noted William Patterson, a marine biologist at the University of West Florida (UWF) in Pensacola.
"If you look at the literature surrounding the
Exxon Valdez oil spill [in 1989], there are still some unknowns associated with that," Patterson said.