2003/12/18 by Charles H. Peterson, Stanley D. Rice, Jeffrey W. Short +4 · 6 citations
Environmental Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Oil Spill Detection and Mitigation #Marine and fisheries research #Marine and coastal plant biology
paper · doi:10.1126/science.1084282
openalex publication_date 2003/12/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
The ecosystem response to the 1989 spill of oil from the Exxon Valdez into Prince William Sound, Alaska, shows that current practices for assessing ecological risks of oil in the oceans and, by extension, other toxic sources should be changed. Previously, it was assumed that impacts to populations derive almost exclusively from acute mortality. However, in the Alaskan coastal ecosystem, unexpected persistence of toxic subsurface oil and chronic exposures, even at sublethal levels, have continued to affect wildlife. Delayed population reductions and cascades of indirect effects postponed recovery. Development of ecosystem-based toxicology is required to understand and ultimately predict chronic, delayed, and indirect long-term risks and impacts.