Researchers believe bird populations were dealt a punishing blow after the oil spill four years ago, but how many species were lost remains a matter in question, The New York Times reported.
A group of scientists are preparing to publish a study in the journal Marine Ecology Environment Series that provides at least one estimate: 800,000. Only 3,000 were found after the spill.
Jeffrey Short, a marine chemist and co-author of the study, said they didn’t find as many carcases because the Gulf’s currents swept them away, among other reasons.
The number, some say, is too conservative. BP disputed the findings, calling them incomplete.
Meanwhile, most of the research from the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment has not been made public while the federal government and BP continue to study the spill’s impact.
Read the full report here.