The Unsung Heroes of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

In 2010 an oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico and started gushing millions of barrels of oil out into the ocean.  Many marine organisms and people were threatened.  Lots of people played a role in trying to control the oil spill and limit the harm to marine life.  But there were some microscopic organisms that also sprang into action to help contain the oil spill.  These were very tiny bacteria that like to feed on oil.  There were many different bacteria that tried to help and they had crazy names like Bermanella, Colwellia, Cycloclasticus, and Alcanivorax.  These bacteria are naturally found in the Gulf of Mexico and they have the ability to feed on different types of oils.  So when the oil was gushing into the ocean they immediately started to consume it.  We should be very grateful to them!  If they did not help many more birds, fish and sea turtles would have died.