Though some scientists are now beginning to suspect that the Deep Water Horizon oil spill may have less of an impact than was once feared, it is still one of the greatest ecological threats that the area, or any habitat on Earth, has ever faced. Biologist Jack Rudloe is hoping to preserve as much of the Gulf’s diverse wildlife as he can by taking a page out of one of the oldest stories in human history. He’s building an Ark.
He’s not putting his specimens on a boat, and Rudloe isn’t collecting animal’s in pairs (the fiddler crabs alone number almost 50,000), but it’s the same basic plan. Create a safe haven for an entire ecosystem so that someday, it can be rebuilt.
Rudloe’s four-acre facility, is now home to more than 350 different species, everything from sharks to shrimp. His artificial environment includes a grassland and mimics high and low tides – keeping these animals as close as possible to their natural habitats.
“We have this endless supply of critters and water out there,” Rudloe told the AP. “We have to get as many animals in there as we can and then if the conditions permit, be able to put some of them back and get some things started.”
Rudloe doesn’t believe, as many do, that the oil that spilled into the Gulf has been consumed by microbes and is no longer a real threat.
“I don’t believe that the oil is gone,” Rudloe said. “It’s still out there in cold water, little tiny droplets that could come spilling up here in the wrong conditions of one or two hurricanes.”
Rudloe’s facility can’t really afford the extra animals, or the new filters they’ve had to install to be sure oil from the Gulf doesn’t get into their systems, but Rudloe is determined to find a way to preserve what he can of the Gulf ecosystem. As he puts it, he has to be able to tell the school kids who ask him questions about the spill that he’s trying to do something to protect the life out there, even if it doesn’t work.
If you want to help support the Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory and Operation Noah’s Ark, click here.
