Oil rigs produce fish, coral, live rock, and endangered species

stevekolian stevekolian at cox.net
Fri Dec 13 08:09:45 EST 2002


habitat
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Dear Listers,

We collected still photos from videos filmed below offshore oil and gas
=
platforms in Gulf of Mexico and put them on the website below. The =
videos contain many interesting events. We tried to pick some still =
photos from the video that represent our findings. Someday we'll post =
the videos on the site.=20

  http://www.towersoflife.com/ecorigs

The photos demonstrate that coral, protected invertebrates,  ~30 species
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of federally managed fish, and endangered sea turtles colonize offshore
=
platforms in significant numbers. We have recorded 7 species of =
Damselfish Pomacentridae which are laying eggs on the platforms and =
because of the location of the platforms, the fish rely on the =
artificial structures for the duration of the lives.  We are observing a
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large and diverse community of Caribbean fish and invertebrates.

The interesting point is that there are no natural reef recruitment =
areas near the platforms on film. They exist on thousands of sq miles of
=
turbid ocean floor.  Its possible that larvae may drift to the platforms
=
from the Flower Gardens, however it is unlikely that adult obligatory =
reef species are traveling 50-100 km to these platforms.=20

We are finding that platforms are serving as a surrogate nesting grounds
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to the drifting larvae of several species of Wrasse Labridae, =
Parrotfishes Scaridae, Butterflyfish Chaetodontidae, Anglefish =
Pomacanthidae, and Surgeonfish Acanthuridae. We are recording =
post-larval, juveniles, and large populations of adults.

There is much more, please take a look and click on http://

www.towersoflife.com/ecorigs

If you have any questions or you see any mistakes, please inform me by =
email:

Best Regards,

Steve Kolian
Environmental Scientist Rm 5514
Louisiana Dept of Environmental Quality
P.O. Box 82178=20
Baton Rouge, Louisiana  70884-2178
225-765-0339 work
225-292-9514 home
steve_k at deq.state.la.us
stevekolian at cox.net
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