USF researchers headed back to Gulf to study sea life
Scientists worry oil is toxic to zooplankton
Photographer: WFTS
Copyright 2010 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Posted: 09/03/2010
ST. PETERSBURG - USF researchers are taking the Weatherbird II research vessel back to the Deepwater Horizon spill area off the Florida Panhandle where scientists have reported deepwater toxic oil plumes.
Their seven-day course is expected to begin on Saturday around 10 a.m., when they depart from USF’s St. Petersburg campus, College of Marine Science.
The research vessel will carry 10 scientists and other crew members to an area called the DeSoto Canyon. Scientists say the area has already been adversely affected by degraded but toxic oil, killing phytoplankton which are tiny plants at the bottom of the food chain.
Phytoplankton and Zooplankton, tiny animals, are both sources of food for commercial fish including mackerel and tuna.
Biological Oceanographer Jose Torres is the lead scientist aboard the cruise. USF says researchers will unload large nets off the back of the vessel at different intervals to collect fish and shrimp samples.
The samples will be studied for oil impact.
Copyright 2010 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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