A study combining 30 years of benthic monitoring data with dietary information on more than 1400 taxa to quantity the effects of active oil and gas platforms on benthic food webs reveals fewer trophic interactions with communities becoming dominated by generalists.

Decreased mean body mass, shorter food chains, and the dominance of small detritivores such as Capitella capitata near to structures suggested a disproportionate loss of larger organisms from higher trophic levels.

These patterns were associated with concentrations of hydrocarbons and heavy metals that exceed OSPAR’s guideline thresholds of sediment toxicity. The study provides new evidence to better quantify and manage the environmental consequences of oil and gas exploitation at sea.

To read the full paper in Science of the Total Environment https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969724026822?via%3Dihub