The Effect of the Oil Spill on Nature

• Activity Number: 251
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Monday, August 1, 2011 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistical Graphics
• Author(s): Patricia Millan and Luis Fernando Campos*+
• Companies: California State University at East Bay and University of California at Berkeley
• Keywords: Oil Spill ; gulf ; graphics

Abstract

The BP oil spill, which arose from an explosion at the Deepwater Horizon rig, has left many unanswered questions related to the impact on the animals that inhabit the gulf region. The data collected by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has allowed us to analyze and provide graphical summaries to help answer some of these following questions: What species of birds were the most affected and where were they when found? Specifically, is there a trend in the species of birds that were reported "not visibly oiled" and "visibly oiled"? Is this trend visible based on where they were found, or whether the birds were reported dead or alive? We will also explore how the species are affected as the oil spill progressed. The graphical summaries provided will help the general audience truly comprehend the impact the oil spill had on the animal inhabitants of the gulf region.