Anthropogenic Stressors & Modern Food Web Ecology
Ecosystems are currently threatened by multiple anthropogenic stressors. Multiple stressors have the potential to cause synergistic effects and their impacts can propagate in complex ways through food webs. Fortunately, ecologists are now equipped with an expanding set of tools for studying feeding (i.e., trophic) relationships.
My current work studies the effects of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill on salt marsh food webs in the Gulf of Mexico
My current work studies the effects of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill on salt marsh food webs in the Gulf of Mexico
The Impacts of The BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Salt Marsh Food Webs
On April 20, 2010, the BP-owned and Transocean-operate Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded while drilling for crude oil 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana and approximately 5000 m below sea level. The well was not contained for nearly 90 days, spewing almost 5 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, making it the largest accidental oil spill in the history of the oil industry.
Has the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill resulted in simpler and less resilient food webs in Louisiana salt marshes?
Trophic Biomarkers
Stable isotopes and fatty acid biomarkers can provide greater resolution and longer temporal scales of diet than traditional methods (e.g., gut content analysis).
We are using these trophic biomarkers to construct the marsh food web at sites that were oiled and unoiled.
We are using these trophic biomarkers to construct the marsh food web at sites that were oiled and unoiled.
Products:
Manuscripts
McCann, M.J. et al. 2017. Key taxa in food web responses to stressors: The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 15: 142-149. [LINK]
Presentations
McCann, M.J., et al. Identifying key species in the response of marsh food webs to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Fort Lauderdale, FL, August 2016.
McCann, M.J., et al. Identifying key species in the response of marsh food webs to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science Conference, Tampa, FL, February 2016.
McCann, MJ. The BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill & Modern Trophic Ecology. Invited Seminar. Dept. of
Marine and Coastal Sciences. Rutgers University. Nov. 2015.
McCann, M.J. et al. 2017. Key taxa in food web responses to stressors: The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 15: 142-149. [LINK]
Presentations
McCann, M.J., et al. Identifying key species in the response of marsh food webs to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Fort Lauderdale, FL, August 2016.
McCann, M.J., et al. Identifying key species in the response of marsh food webs to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science Conference, Tampa, FL, February 2016.
McCann, MJ. The BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill & Modern Trophic Ecology. Invited Seminar. Dept. of
Marine and Coastal Sciences. Rutgers University. Nov. 2015.