A study by the University of Central Florida draws the conclusion that the combined factors of a cold winter in 2010 and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2011 contributed to a high death rate for dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico. Since the cold water had already stretched the food resources for the dolphins too thin, the oil spill was a final blow as it killed off remaining dolphin food sources. The study is very careful in its wording and states that while there is no definitive proof that the oil spill killed off the remaining food sources, it was definitely a contributing factor (in other words it was a pretty safe bet but they don’t want to get sued by BP).
