The Bahia Paraiso Oil Spill: Impact on a Southern Seabird Community

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On 28 January 1989, the Argentine supply ship Bahia Paraiso ran aground near Palmer Station, Antarctica, spilling 180,000 gallons of diesel fuel, jet fuel and heavy lubricants into the marine environment. The spill, which coincided with the feeding, fledgling and dispersal stages of the area's six most abundant seabird species, exposed 36,000-43,000 chicks and adults to the oil. The focus of this study is to determine the impact this spill has had on seabird populations in the Palmer area. From prior research at Palmer Station during 1987-1989, there is current data on the abundance, breeding success, diets and growth rates of the more numerous members of this seabird community, including marked chick cohorts from 1988 (not exposed to oil) and 1989 (exposed to oil). This data will be used as baseline information in a comparative study designed to assess seabird mortality in the area and determine the population's potential for recovery. The availability of similar baseline data is rare among oil impact studies on seabird communities as a whole. The proposed study thus becomes uniquely valuable, not only in terms of assessing the impacts of an oil spill on a comparatively pristine polar seabird community, but as a potential source of critical data for seabird impact studies in general.