Oil in the Environment

John A. Wiens is Chief Scientist at PRBO Conservation Science in California, USA, and Winthrop Research Professor in the School of Plant Biology at the University of Western Australia. He has served on the faculties of Oregon State University, the University of New Mexico and Colorado State University, where he was a University Distinguished Professor. From 2002 to 2008 he was Lead Scientist with The Nature Conservancy. His work emphasizes landscape ecology, conservation and the ecology of birds.

• List of contributors; Prologue; Acknowledgments; A bibliographic note David K. Johnson and Laura R. Rustin; List of acronyms; Part I. Introduction and Background: 1. Introduction and background John A. Wiens; 2. The phases of an oil spill and scientific studies of spill effects Paul D. Boehm, Erich R. Gundlach and David S. Page; Part II. Oil in the Environment: 3. Oil in the water column Paul D. Boehm, Jerry M. Neff and David S. Page; 4. Surveying oil on the shoreline Edward H. Owens and P. Douglas Reimer; 5. Ancient sites and emergency response: cultural resource protection Chris B. Wooley and James C. Haggarty; 6. Fate of oil on shorelines David S. Page, Paul D. Boehm, John S. Brown, Erich R. Gundlach and Jerry M. Neff; 7. Understanding subsurface contamination using conceptual and mathematical models Gary A. Pope, Kimberly D. Gordon and James R. Bragg; 8. Removal of oil from shorelines: biodegradation and bioremediation Ronald M. Atlas and James R. Bragg; Part III. Biological Effects: 9. Cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) as a biomarker in oil spill assessments James T. Oris and Aaron P. Roberts; 10. Assessing effects and recovery from environmental accidents Keith R. Parker, John A. Wiens, Robert H. Day and Stephen M. Murphy; 11. Shoreline biota Erich R. Gundlach, David S. Page, Jerry M. Neff and Paul D. Boehm; 12. Oiling effects on pink salmon Ernest L. Brannon, Matthew A. Cronin, Al W. Maki, Larry L. Moulton and Keith R. Parker; 13. Pacific herring Walter H. Pearson, Ralph A. Elston, Karen Humphrey and Richard B. Deriso; 14. Oil and marine birds in a variable environment John A. Wiens, Robert H. Day and Stephen M. Murphy; 15. Sea otters: trying to see the forest for the trees since Exxon Valdez David L. Garshelis and Charles B. Johnson; Part IV. Assessing Oil Spill Effects and Ecological Recovery: 16. Characterizing ecological risks, significance, and recovery Mark A. Harwell, John H. Gentile and Keith R. Parker; Part V. Conclusions: 17. Science and oil spills: the broad picture John A. Wiens; Index.

'It is now 24 years since approximately 34,500 tonnes of crude oil were released into Prince William Sound, Alaska, as a result of the grounding of the tanker Exxon Valdez … [The] spill has been described as the most intensively studied in history - over 800 peer-reviewed scientific papers have been produced to date and work is ongoing. This volume, written by scientists who conducted many of these scientific studies, provides an excellent compilation and critical evaluation of the evidence gathered in relation to impacts which occurred as a result of the incident. The additional perspective given by time has also allowed a very useful series of 'lessons learned' following each of the main topic areas … [I] recommend this volume to anyone involved in studies undertaken to assess impacts of oil and/or chemical spills, and to others interested in this area …' Robin Law, Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science