Effects of Crude Oil Pollution in the Tropical Rainforest Biodiversity of Ecuadorian Amazon Region

Paper Details

Research Paper 01/02/2016
Views (724)
current_issue_feature_image
publication_file

Effects of Crude Oil Pollution in the Tropical Rainforest Biodiversity of Ecuadorian Amazon Region

Bautista Hugo, Rahman K.M. Mijanur
J. Biodiv. & Environ. Sci. 8(2), 249-254, February 2016.
Copyright Statement: Copyright 2016; The Author(s).
License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Abstract

The interconnectivity among the aquatic ecosystems of Ecuadorian Amazon makes them highly sensitive to broad range of anthropogenic activities like oil pollution. Ecuadorian Amazon biodiversity is in great threats because of the large scale oil pollution by the Chevron-Texaco which systematically dumped 18.5 billion gallons of highly carcinogenic toxic waste into unlined pits, swamps, streams, and rivers into the rainforest from 1964 to 1992. Vast number of ecologically important animals and plants populations is in great threats after this massive oil pollution. The spread of oil and its biological effects is documented immediately. Forest plants, river grasses, algae, and associated invertebrates were badly covered by oil and soon after they are died regularly. The death of Dolphins, Otter and several species of birds has been reported because of oil pollution. The secondary effects of oil pollution are always much greater than the primary effects. So, proper initiatives should be taken in the long run to protect the biological communities of Amazon.

Araya I and Peters H. 2002. Environmental Management Project: Oil Exploitation and Sustainable Development in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Petramaz project. Quito.Asanza , 1-10. (in Spanish)

Burnham, Robyn J, Johnson, Kirk R. 2004. South American palaeobotany and the origins of neotropical rainforests”. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society; 2004: 359(1450), 1595–1610.

Da Silva, Cardoso JM. 2005. “The Fate of the Amazonian Areas of Endemism”. Conservation Biology 19(3), 689–694.

Davidson EA. 2009. The potential ecological costs and co-benefits of REDD: a critical review and case study from the Amazon region. Global Change Biology 12, 2803-2824.

Gilbert TD. 2001. New Technologies to Assist Oil Spill Response in Australia. Proceedings of the 6th International Oil Spill Conference, Melbourne, 9-12.

Heintz RA, Short JW and Rice SD. 1999.Sensitivity of fish embryos to weathered crude oil. Part 2. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 18, 494-503.

Houghton JP, Gilmour RH. 2012. Prince William Sound intertidal biota, several years later: Has it recovered? In: Proceedings of the International Oil Spill Conference. Washington, DC: American Petroleum Institute. 679-685.

IUCN. 2015. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015-4. Downloaded on 19 November 2015. http://www.iucnredlist.org

Kasai Y, Kishira H, Syutsubo K, Harayama S. 2001.Molecular detection of marine bacterial populations on beaches contaminated by the Nakhodka tanker oil-spill accident. Environmental Microbiology 3, 246-255.

Ko J, Day J. 2004. A review of ecological impacts of oil and gas development on coastal ecosystem in the Mississippi Delta, Ocean & Coastal Management 47, 597-623.

Maslin M, Malhi Y, Phillips O, Cowling S. 2005. “New views on an old forest: assessing the longevity, resilience and future of the Amazon rainforest”. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 30(4), 477–499.

Mosbech A. 2002. Potential environmental impacts of oil spills in Greenland-An assessment of information status and research needs; National Environmental Research Institute ,Ministry of the Environment. Denmark, 33-40.

Pezeshki S, Hester M, Lin Q, Nyman J. 2000. The effects of oil spill and clean-up on dominant US Gulf Coast march macrophytes: a review, Environmental Pollution 108, 129-139.

Rice SD. 1985.Effects of Oil on Fish. in Engelhardt, F.R. (ed.): Petroleum Effects in the Arctic Environment. – Elsevier Applied Science Publishers, London New York, 157-182.

Rival L. 2010. Ecuador’s Yasuní-ITT Initiative: The old and new values of petroleum. Ecological Economics 70(2010). 358–365.

Serigstad B. 1992. The significance of physical properties of the sea for oil spill impacts. – Proc. Of Petro-physics II, 2nd int. conf. on fisheries and offshore petroleum exploitation, Bergen, Norway.

Related Articles

Agroforestry in woody-encroached Sub-Saharan savannas: Transforming ecological challenges into sustainable opportunities

Yao Anicet Gervais Kouamé, Pabo Quévin Oula, Kouamé Fulgence Koffi, Ollo Sib, Adama Bakayoko, Karidia Traoré, J. Biodiv. & Environ. Sci. 27(3), 10-22, September 2025.

Extreme rainfall variability and trends in the district of Ouedeme, municipality of Glazoue (Benin)

Koumassi Dègla Hervé, J. Biodiv. & Environ. Sci. 27(3), 1-9, September 2025.

Heterosis breeding, general and specific combining ability and stability studies in pearl millet: Current trends

Ram Avtar, Krishan Pal, Kavita Rani, Rohit Kumar Tiwari, Mahendra Kumar Yadav, J. Biodiv. & Environ. Sci. 27(2), 117-124, August 2025.

Combining ability, heterosis and stability for yield and fibre quality traits in cotton: Breeding approaches and future prospects

Rohit Kumar Tiwari, Krishan Pal, R. P. Saharan, Ram Avtar, Mahendra Kumar Yadav, J. Biodiv. & Environ. Sci. 27(2), 109-116, August 2025.

Bridging the COPD awareness gap in marginalized populations: Findings from a multicentre study in Khalilabad, Sant Kabir Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, India

Anupam Pati Tripathi, Jigyasa Pandey, Sakshi Singh, Smita Pathak, Dinesh Chaudhary, Alfiya Mashii, Farheen Fatima, J. Biodiv. & Environ. Sci. 27(2), 97-108, August 2025.

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of Pleurotus citrinopileatus Singer and Pleurotus sajor-caju (Fr.) Singer

P. Maheswari, P. Madhanraj, V. Ambikapathy, P. Prakash, A. Panneerselvam, J. Biodiv. & Environ. Sci. 27(2), 90-96, August 2025.

Mangrove abundance, diversity, and productivity in effluent-rich estuarine portion of Butuanon River, Mandaue City, Cebu

John Michael B. Genterolizo, Miguelito A. Ruelan, Laarlyn N. Abalos, Kathleen Kay M. Buendia, J. Biodiv. & Environ. Sci. 27(2), 77-89, August 2025.

Cytogenetic and pathological investigations in maize × teosinte hybrids: Chromosome behaviour, spore identification, and inheritance of maydis leaf blight resistance

Krishan Pal, Ravi Kishan Soni, Devraj, Rohit Kumar Tiwari, Ram Avtar, J. Biodiv. & Environ. Sci. 27(2), 70-76, August 2025.