Figure 1.
Circles indicate control sites; triangles indicate oiled sites. Sampling dates and GPS coordinates may be found in Table S1.
Figure 2.
Typical conditions at oiled sites.
At the leading edge of the marsh, there was C) a zone up to 5 m wide of bare mud where all vegetation had died. Behind this was B) a zone of wrack up to 2 m wide consisting of heavily-oiled plant debris. Behind this was A) an extensive zone of live and apparently healthy Spartina alterniflora. Oil sheens were visible on the soil surface within the live Spartina zone. At some oiled sites, the dead zone and wrack line were absent, but oil sheens were visible within the live Spartina zone. Sampling at both oiled and control sites was done at least 2 m inside the live Spartina zone.
Table 1.
Measurements of soil and vegetation at oiled and control sites (means ± SE).
Figure 3.
Densities of marine invertebrates and terrestrial arthropods at oiled and control sites in 2010 and 2011.
A) Littoraria m−2; B) crab burrows m−2; C) total terrestrial arthropods 0.56 m−2 (not including crustaceans); D) predators 0.56 m−2; E) sucking herbivores 0.56 m−2; F) stem-boring herbivores 0.56 m−2; G) parasitoids 0.56 m−2; and H) detritivores 0.56 m−2. Open bars indicate control sites; filled bars indicate oiled sites. Data are means ±1 SE.
Table 2.
Summary of ANOVA results (d.f., F statistics, and p-values) for invertebrate groups.