PETROLEUM INDUSTRY'S ROLE IN MARINE BIRD CONSERVATION 



255 



traffic. Map overlays would depict the loca- 

 tion of resident species and the migratory pat- 

 terns, species composition, relative abun- 

 dance, and winter concentration areas of mi- 

 grants. Additional overlays would locate com- 

 mercially important demersal seafood areas 

 (e.g., oyster and abalone beds, lobster and 

 crabbing locales) and marine mammal habi- 

 tats. Further refinement of an atlas could in- 

 clude information on tides, prevailing winds, 

 ocean currents, and water mass movements to 

 assist in predicting the path of spilled oil. 



What Has Been Accomplished 



The petroleum industry, through the API, 

 took prompt steps to mitigate the problem 

 after the first seabird mortalities were re- 

 ported from Santa Barbara in 1969. They 

 commissioned a young aviculturist, Philip 

 Stanton, who has extensive experience work- 

 ing with wild waterfowl, to start a research 

 program on cleaning and caring for oiled 

 birds. At his Wildlife Rehabilitation Center at 

 Upton, Massachusetts, Stanton, with the 

 help of API, has been conducting research on 

 oiled birds for 7 years. He is also an assistant 

 professor of biology at nearby Framingham 

 State College. Stanton's studies (unpublished) 

 include investigations on food shape and color 

 preferences in wild ducks, the effects of 

 lengthened photoperiods on breeding of arctic 

 geese, and the effects of diets of varying pro- 

 tein concentrations on growth and develop- 

 ment of the common eider duck. 



As a result of his research on cleaning tech- 

 niques and agents, Stanton has recommended 

 a nontoxic liquid cleaner called Polycomplex 

 A-ll. Although not perfect, it is one of several 

 cleaning agents being successfully used 

 today. He has authored a "how to" guide for 

 oiled-bird treatment entitled "Operation Res- 

 cue" and prepared a companion bibliography 

 (Stanton 1972). These booklets have been dis- 

 tributed throughout the United States to 

 State and Federal agencies and conservation 

 organizations. He has provided consulting 

 services at numerous spills and has worked to 

 establish oiled-wildlife treatment centers in 

 coastal States. 



Since 1972 the API has sponsored an avian 

 physiology study at the University of Cali- 



fornia at Santa Barbara. Under the direction 

 of W. N. Holmes, the studies are directed at 

 the effects of ingested crude oil and petroleum 

 products on marine birds. Holmes has re- 

 vealed that small quantities of crude oil intro- 

 duced into the gut of a saltwater-adapted bird 

 can affect the mucosal transport and extra- 

 renal excretory mechanisms, resulting in 

 acute dehydration and eventual death. Dr. 

 Holmes is also examining the effects of the 

 various distillation fractions derived from 

 crude oil and the long-term effects of ingested 

 oil in mature birds. Incidentally, Alaska 

 North Slope oil was found to be almost in- 

 nocuous when administered to ducklings in 

 amounts similar to the effective doses of other 

 oils (Holmes and Cronshaw 1975). 



Refined products (diesel oil, No. 2 fuel oil, 

 and Bunker "C") are known to be more toxic 

 than crude oil. For example, the relatively 

 small spills of Bunker "C" at Tampa, Florida, 

 in 1970 and in San Francisco in 1971 caused 

 approximate mortalities of 90 and 20 birds 

 per ton of spilled product, respectively. The 

 crude oil spills of the Torrey Canyon and at 

 Santa Barbara, however, resulted in mortali- 

 ties of only 0.5 and 0.6 bird per ton of oil 

 (Clark 1973). 



Dr. Holmes is now testing measured 

 amounts of the above refined oils on adult 

 birds. He is determining the degree of de- 

 hydration incurred, the resulting pathological 

 changes, and the replacement (hormonal and 

 electrolyte) therapy necessary to rehabilitate 

 the birds. 



It is obviously important to keep as many 

 birds away from an oil slick as possible. This 

 was the objective of an API contract with the 

 Av-Alarm Corporation of Santa Maria, Cali- 

 fornia. Their objective was to determine the 

 feasibility of repelling aquatic birds from an 

 area by using an acoustical jamming device as 

 the stimulus. 



The flocking instinct in birds provides 

 mutual protection through their almost con- 

 stant communication with one another. When 

 this (audio) communication is prevented by 

 jamming with high-frequency sounds, the 

 birds immediately leave the area to seek relief. 

 This harmless technique has been used suc- 

 cessfully for years to repel agricultural pest 

 birds. 



