A Workshop on the Long-term Ecological Effects
of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Coastal Ecosystems
Sponsored by the National Science Foundation
and
the Department of Biological Science at Florida State University
10-12 September 2010
The Augustus Turnbull Conference Center
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida
The purpose of this invited workshop will be to organize the long-term responses of ecologists to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the ecological effects of which will persist for decades on coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists must quantify these effects in ways that will best allow for understanding and responding to this environmental catastrophe. Ecologists face three key challenges: (1) adequately sampling the important species and processes across coastal habitats, which often involves estimating parameters before oil reaches the habitat; (2) coordinating the scientific effort to monitor a broad range of habitats, species, and processes; and (3) creating a large, long-term database so that the collected scientific data can be effectively used.
The workshop's goal will be to produce a white paper on how the scientific community should respond to the spill. In particular, it will address how to coordinate the responses of the many scientists and agencies involved to obtain the best scientific data possible, as well as the creation of a single database for the use of scientists, associated agencies, and the public.
For more information about this workshop, please contact T. E. Miller (miller@bio.fsu.edu, 850-644-9823). Workshop attendance is by invitation only; Florida State faculty and students who are interested in more information may contact T. E. Miller or E. Gornish (egornish@bio.fsu.edu, 850-644-8575).
A List of Participants
- Michael W. Beck, The Nature Conservancy
- Susan S. Bell, University of South Florida
- Jeffrey P. Chanton, Florida State University
- Felicia C. Coleman, Florida State University
- Donna J. Devlin, Florida Atlantic University
- Ilka C. Feller, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
- James W. Fourqurean, Florida International University
- Elise Gornish, Florida State University
- Stefan J. Green, Florida State University
- Markus Huettel, Florida State University
- A. Randall Hughes, Florida State University
- Matthew B. Jones, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
- David L. Kimbro, Florida State University
- Joel E. Kostka, Florida State University
- Kelly M. Major, University of South Alabama
- Austin R. Mast, Florida State University
- Amy McKenna, Florida State University
- Thomas E. Miller, Florida State University
- Daniel C. Moon, University of North Florida
- James T. Morris, University of South Carolina
- John Andrew Nyman, Louisiana State University
- Craig W. Osenberg, University of Florida
- Steven C. Pennings, University of Houston
- Charles H. Peterson, University of North Carolina
- Sean P. Powers, Dauphin Island Sea Lab
- C. Edward Proffitt, Florida Atlantic University
- Christina L. Richards, University of South Florida
- Brian R. Silliman, University of Florida
- Andrew Whitehead, Louisiana State University