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Questions about the impact of oil on deepwater species such as these made the lack of baseline data even more glaring to the ichthyologist than ever before. With more than 600 known species in the northern Gulf of Mexico and new ones being discovered annually, it is of utmost importance for ichthyologists to know which fish are currently using that space as habitat so that the scale of the oil spill’s impact can then accurately be determined. Chakrabarty and researchers from Ohio State University developed DEPTHMAP, a web-accessible mapping application that combines historical records of fish species collections (e.g., GPS coordinates of capture records, depth at capture measurements) with more recent data on the oil spill. These data are being mapped with real-time geographic information, tracking both commercially and ecologically important species. This tracking system won’t necessarily yield quick results, but rather will show the long-term effects of oil and dispersants on deep sea species. Figure 3.6 Halieutichthys intermedius, more commonly known as the Louisiana pancake batfish, was discovered by LSU’s Prosanta Chakrabarty, curator of fishes at the university’s Museum of Natural Science. Its entire known habitat was affected by the spill.
Ed Overton, professor emeritus in the School of the Coast & Environment’s Department of Environmental Science, evaluated oil samples for NOAA, performing chemical analyses on a regular basis so that everyone with their hands in the water (so to speak) knew exactly what kind of toxins they were dealing with. His lab focuses on studying the impact of oil spills on the environment, and he has worked on the Ixtoc spill, the Exxon Valdez spill and nearly every such accident since then. His lab has been providing oil analyses and related work for NOAA since 1984, analyzing samples, interpreting data and developing conclusions about how to use mitigation strategies.