Status of intertidal infaunal communities following the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska

Intertidal infaunal communities were sampled in Prince William Sound, Alaska from 1990-2000 to evaluate impacts and recovery from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Initial findings suggested that the spill and cleanup depressed abundances of all taxonomic groups. By 1992, abundances of major taxonomic categories at disturbed sites had either converged or paralleled populations at Unoiled sites. Abundances of littleneck clams, Leukoma (Protothaca) staminea, slowly increased at Treated sites and converged with Unoiled sites by 2000. Infaunal population differences positively correlated with fine-grained sediments at Treated sites. We believe that sediment fines removal during cleanup, and subsequent slow natural replenishment, impeded the return of the environment to pre-spill conditions. This suggests physical recovery of spill-affected beaches is an important precursor to biological recovery.