EFFECT OF OIL POLLUTION ON MAEINE AND WILD LIFE 181 



sticks to their legs, wings, and tlie undersides of tlie body. As ttie bird en- 

 deavors to remove the clinging material its neck, head, and beak become more 

 or less contaminated with the tarry material. The feathers are matted to- 

 gether, and when th s occurs with the wings the bird becomes helpless. Even 

 by the time the material has to any extent covered the feathers of the birds 

 they have more or less reached this state. They find it impossible to fly, or 

 at least fly in a normal manner, and can only walk or roll over the flats. 



At the autopsy practically all the birds showed a similar condition, and 

 a composite description of the findings may suffice for all. 



Externally the birds are covered to a greater or less extent with a black, 

 sticky, tarry oil, apparently a closely related product to crude petroleum. 

 The material is incrusted upon legs, feet, and wings, and the feathers on the 

 undersurface of the body are usually completely covered and matted together 

 with the oil, while patches of the same material are present on the neck and 

 back ; as a rule the head and beak are also covered through the attempts of 

 the bird to preen itself. The oil not only causes an adhesion of the feathers 

 but penetrates to the skin at times, evidently causing a slight irritation. 



4< * * 



The matting of the wing feathers gives an effect similar to slipping, thus 

 preventing normal flight dependent upon the extent of the involvement. With 

 a tumbling, irregular flight the bird is more likely to become more extensively 

 contaminated with the oil. 



Associated with the question of flight and movement is that of obtaining 

 food. In most of the birds examined the stomachs were empty, and in a few 

 instances there was evidence of starvation, indicating that the birds were 

 unable to obtain the food necessary for existence. However, it would seem 

 that death occurred before or during the early stages of starvation, and that 

 lack of food was probably only a contributing factor. 



The internal organs were unaffected by disease and showed post-mortem 

 changes. No evidence of pneimionia was found in any specimen. 



The temperature of birds is slightly higher than that of man and is main- 

 cained through the air sacs and feathers. The latter are especially valuable 

 in conserving body heat, and birds, if deprived of this covering, would be 

 unable to maintain a normal body temperature in cold weather. The matting 

 together of the feathers deprives them to some extent of their heat-protecting 

 function and makes the birds more readily susceptible to severe weather. 



No distinction was noted between the species of water fowl which frequent 

 the oil-covered flats and shores. All seemed to be equally incapacitated. 

 Small birds, however, are more likely to receive a relatively greater covering 

 of oil and therefore may perish sooner than the larger ones. 



CONCLUSION 



Marine life and aquatic birds along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts 

 have suffered seriously from pollution of waters by petroleum oil, 

 but other industrial wastes are undoubtedly responsible for much of 

 the damage done. This is a serious problem, primarily because of 

 the vital importance of aquatic life as a source of food. Oil pollu- 

 tion is detrimental to shellfish by destroying the larval forms and 

 rendering the adult mollusks and finny fish unfit for food. It causes 

 considerable destruction of fowl, rendering the birds helpless through 

 its mechanical action on the feathers. 



o 



