Mass mortality of macrobenthos in a biodiverse rocky beach- Impact of a minor oil spill

Abstract

A field survey was carried immediately post an accidental oil spill at rocky intertidal zone of Uran. Mass mortality of macrobenthos was observed at spillage site whereas reference site harboured diverse and live macrobenthic population. This study aims to highlight the importance of early monitoring of impacted and reference locations for determining the magnitude of damage caused to the environment due to any kind of spill and in turn acquire baseline information for tracing future path of recovery.