Chart of the Week: Death of a Sea

[credit: Holly M. Bik, PLoS ONE]

Recent articles in the press say some scientists think the planet is headed for a tipping point collapse if humanity does not curtail its abuse of Earth's ecosystems. The effect of a millenium of agricultural and industrial development on the planet's natural systems is so profound that scientists are now ready to debate if a new geological epoch,  the "Anthropocene", should be named to signify the human driven effects that are likely to leave an indelible mark on Earth.

The Gulf of Mexico is a case on point. A report in the science journal PLoS ONE by researchers Holly Bik et al found that the diversity of microbes living in the sand of five beaches around Dauphin Island and Mobile Bay, Alabama and Grand Isle, Louisiana beach to be rich prior to the Deepwater Horizon disaster [chart, left side]. After the spill took place, the diversity disappeared leaving only a few "predators and opportunists" such as nematode worms and fungi. [chart, right side] The implications of the study for the Gulf's long term health are tremendously bad. The beaches may look relatively clean after treatment with chemicals and mechanical scrubbing, but the microbes that support all larger life is dying. The communities of these very small organisms form the foundation of a sea's food web. The Gulf may be "open for business" now, but if sea life collapses due to lack of food, it will be in the form of a closing sale.