RAPID: Relative impacts of density- and trait-mediated effects on a top predator: how has the Deepwater Horizon oil spill affected Brown Pelican population biology?

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This project uses the environmental disturbance generated by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to assess the relative importance of density vs. trait-mediated effects in regulating populations of the brown pelican. The investigators will combine post- and pre-spill data to quantify the effects of different levels of oil exposure on population density and ecologically relevant traits, and on the population-level consequences of different exposure scenarios. By providing a detailed analysis of how traits such as foraging behavior combine with population density to influence the dynamics of a top predator, the study will further our understanding of the ecological factors that regulate population dynamics and the long-term, non-lethal effects of major anthropogenic disturbances. The brown pelican was completely extirpated from Louisiana in the 1960's and only recently removed from the Endangered Species list. Since then, it has become a culturally important symbol of ecosystem resilience in the Gulf of Mexico. The project will raise public awareness about how exposure to environmental contaminants may affect this and other colonial nesting seabirds affected by the oil spills, and results will inform conservation practitioners and wildlife biologists about effective management of these populations. The proposed research will also provide training to one undergraduate student and one female post-doctoral fellow.