Scientist Finds Deadly Effects of Dispersant Used in Gulf Oil
Disaster from Wildlife Promise In the cramped lab at Mote Marine
Laboratory’s Tropical Research Lab on Summerland Key in the
Florida Keys, Dr. Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley and her team saw
firsthand the effects of Corexit 9500 chemical dispersant on the
settlement and survival of coral larvae. It wasn’t pretty. Two
corals were selected for the experiments: mustard hill coral
(Porites asteroides), and mountainous star coral (Montastraea
faveola). Montastraea (see right) is of particular interest
because it is one of the corals that populates the Flower Garden
Banks National Marine Sanctuary (NMS) located in the
northwestern Gulf, an area close to the BP oil spill. But both
corals can be found throughout the Florida Keys NMS which was
spared a direct hit and is the subject of much “what if”
research. “We chose the mustard hill because it is a brooder,”
said Goodbody-Gringley. “It goes through internal fertilization
and releases mature larvae into the w