represented have since developed their own contingency plans designed to 

 integrate with regional FWS plans. Organization like this will minimize the 

 confusion that has plagued past efforts; but release rates cannot be expected 

 to rise dramatically until everyone involved has become thoroughly familiar 

 with oiled bird care. Unfortunately, such experience only can be gained 

 through practice during an actual spill. 



The supervision of future oiled bird cleanup efforts by the FWS can en- 

 sure data collection needed to develop success predictability. Williams (1978) 

 offers general guidelines, which should be refined to species level, to estab- 

 lish the toxicity of various oils to different species, and to evaluate the 

 success of different rehabilitation methods. Information gathered would im- 

 prove techniques and lead to standardization of treatment. 



There is still some confusion about oiled bird treatment. Many veteri- 

 narians, who receive little training in avian medicine in veterinary school, 

 treat the oiled bird much as they would the companion, or domestic animal. 

 Dehydration is rarely recognized, and cathartics, dehydrating in themselves, 

 are administered in order to remove oil from an inflamed gut; corticosteroids, 

 which leave the bird with reduced immunity, are ordered to alleviate stress; 

 antibiotics, which increase the susceptibility to fungal disease, are pre- 

 scribed as a prophylactic measure; and thiamine is given to prevent thia- 

 minase toxicosis. Many birds have survived for years in captivity feeding on 

 fish known to contain high levels of thiaminase (Swennen 1977). There is 

 hardly any data applicable to the diagnosis and treatment of affected birds. 

 Treatment could be improved considerably by research. Especially needed are: 

 baseline studies, on a species level, of avian hematology and blood chemistry; 

 the establishment of parameters that would clearly define shock thus eliminat- 

 ing the controversy that surrounds its treatment; the study of serum and tissue 

 levels, and the metabolism and excretion of antibiotics in water birds to de- 

 termine correct dose levels; and research into the nutritional needs of the 

 commonly oiled species. 



It might be said that the oiled bird today faces an identity crisis. It 

 is a "political animal" in the realm of partisan politics and is subject to 

 the scrutiny of House Subcommittees. It is a "poor relation" in the field of 

 oil spill cleanup technology, yet it is the dramatic symbol of the environ- 

 mental cause, and an object of contention to many of those trying to save it. 

 The bird's true position, a complex veterinary medical problem, has, at times, 

 been overlooked. 



THE FUTURE 



Oiled bird rehabilitation is far from being a simple laundry problem; it 

 is an interdisciplinary specialty combining cleaning techniques, veterinary 

 medicine, and animal husbandry. The successful implementation of cleaning 

 techniques in an oil spill situation requires contingency planning, stockpil- 

 ing of materials, and site selection for cleaning centers prior to a spill, 



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