Ocean Health  Loons and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill  How are
these key predators faring after 250 million gallons of oil
poured into waters they depend on?  Explore this expedition
Read reviews  The facts  Why the research is important  Why the
research is important  Loons are remarkable birds. They can dive
more than 200 feet (61 meters) deep to catch their prey.
Animals that are high up in the food chain—like loons, which eat
fish and shrimp—can tell us a lot about what’s going on in their
environment.  Researchers are studying the Gulf of Mexico’s
loons to look for signs that spilled oil is working its way
through the food chain. They already know that a loon’s body
will absorb and store larger amounts of toxins like petroleum
than it is able to expel, so if oil has entered the food chain
of the Gulf, the loons’ bodies will provide evidence of it.
Chronic exposure to petroleum can harm loons and other species
and may lead to death from starvation, disease, or predation.
This could be especially dangero