Cornell Bird Pro says Spill Damage "Unfathomable"

By Carlet Cleare

Rochester, NY – A Cornell University bird expert says the possible effect of the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico on the ecosystem is "unfathomable." That's because it's not yet known how gushing crude oil will be stemmed, or how far the slick will spread.

Ken Rosenburg is the director of Conservation Science at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. He says birds are an indicator of the health of the environment.

"The fear is that the entire ecosystem is threatened, including the oyster beds, and the shrimp nurseries and the fish nurseries, that the whole region depends on - that the whole country depends on for seafood. And the way of life down along the Gulf Coast is all threatened by this oil."

Rosenburg says thousands of breeding bird colonies along the Gulf coast depend on coastal fish and marine life to feed their young.

He says the spill could devastate reproduction, and it's likely large numbers of birds will die. Rosenburg says the US needs to rethink its energy policy in order to preserve fragile ecosystems.