RT Journal Article
T1 Mass mortality of seabirds in the aftermath of the Prestige oil spill
A1 Munilla Rumbao, Ignacio
A1 Arcos, José Manuel
A1 Oro, Daniel
A1 Álvarez Fernández, David
A1 Leyenda, Patricia M.
A1 Velando Rodríguez, Alberto
K1 Alca torda
K1 Alcidae
K1 Auk
K1 Drift experiment
K1 Fratercula arctica
K1 Galicia
K1 Iberian Coastal Large MarineEcosystem
K1 Oil spil
K1 Pulse perturbation
K1 Seabird
K1 Uria aalge
AB In the winter of 2002–03 the Prestige tanker spilled 60,000 tons of oil over the northern half ofthe Iberian Coastal Large Marine Ecosystem (northern Portugal to France). Most (c. 85%) of the 22,981 oiledseabirds reported were alcids (i.e., auks): Common Murres (Uria aalge), Razorbills (Alca torda) and AtlanticPuffins (Fratercula arctica). Here we estimated the mortality of alcids in Galicia (northwestern Spain), thearea that received most of the Prestige oil and where half of the oiled seabirds were collected. We performedthree experiments that included: (1) a test of several drift block models in open sea, to select the one thatbest fitted the drift of alcid carcasses; (2) the release of 450 drift blocks at 9 offshore points to assess therecovery rate of oiled alcids and its spatial variation; (3) the assessment of beach survey effort and thedetectability of drift blocks. Mean mortality estimates and their bootstrapped confidence intervals wereobtained through an estimation model that established: (1) a temporal limit of 23 days to block drifting; (2)spatial differences in the recovery rates of blocks depending on how far away from the coast they werereleased; (3) a correction factor accounting for detectability, and (4) the distribution pattern of the threealcid species involved according to three distance classes, based on ship surveys. The Prestige oil spill, interms of acute seabird mortality, was one of the worst oil spills ever reported worldwide. Compared toother major oil spills the estimated mortality for the Prestige oil spill was higher than expected from thenumber of carcasses retrieved. We recommend that drift block assessments of seabird mortality should beincluded in contingency response plans to oil pollution emergencies; therefore, a supply of drift-blocksdesigned to mimic the drifting behavior of the marine bird species of interests should be at hand
PB Wiley
SN 2150-8925
YR 2011
FD 2011
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/23068
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/23068
LA eng
NO Munilla, I., J. M. Arcos, D. Oro, D. Álvarez, P. M. Leyenda, and A. Velando. 2011. Mass mortality of seabirds in the aftermath of the Prestige oil spill. Ecosphere 2(7):art83. doi:10.1890/ES11-00020.1
NO Funds were partially provided by Spanish Ministry of Science (ref. VEM2003‐20052) and Organismo Autónomo de Parques Nacionales (ref. 079/2009). The means for aerial block release in Galicia were provided by Consellería de Medio Ambiente, Xunta de Galicia
DS Minerva
RD 3 may 2026