LET THE LIMPETS DO IT

OIL WASHED ONTO CORNISH BEACHES FROM THE 1967 TORREY CANYON DISASTER WAS NOT DESTRUCTIVE TO MARINE LIFE. MANY MOLLUSCS EVEN BEGAN TO EAT THE OIL COVER. SOME 3 MILLION GALLONS OF TOXIC DETERGENTS WERE POURED INTO THE SEA AND OVER THE ROCKS AND BEACHES OF CORNWALL. IT COMPLETELY DENUDED THE SHORES OF LIFE. ALGAE NOW COVER THE ROCKS IN PLACE OF BARNACLES, MOLLUSCS AND OTHER ANIMALS AND IT WILL BE SEVERAL YEARS BEFORE THE ECOLOGY RETURNS TO NORMAL. IN PLACES WHERE THE OIL WAS LEFT UNTREATED, SCIENTISTS DISCOVERED THAT LIMPETS AND OTHER MOLLUSCS WERE EATING IT. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT IT WAS PROBABLY BEST TO LET THE ANIMALS CLEAR THE SHORES.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 95, No 3, P 70
• Publication Date: 1969-1-18

Media Info

• Serial:
  • Science News Letter

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Animals; Beaches; Consumption; Contaminants; Detergents; Ecology; Oils
• Uncontrolled Terms: Contamination
• Old TRIS Terms: Limpets; Molluscs
• Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00218465
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 21 1994 12:00AM