article_snippet.sent: BP's vice president of communications, Geoff Morrell, said there is no doubt birds, fish, turtles, sub-sea vegetation and even sediment species were all affected in the immediate aftermath of the spill.
article_snippet.sent: Dolphins are dying at an accelerated rate along the Gulf Coast, and even more so in Louisiana where the oil hit the hardest.
article_snippet.sent: But the dolphin "mortality event," as the government calls the dolphin "mortality event, began months before the spill.
article_snippet.sent: Studies suggest Dolphins suffer from in places like Barataria Bay, Louisiana, could be caused by oil exposure, but direct links to the spill the spill have not been proven.
article_snippet.sent: Seaside sparrows in the Gulf of Mexico are also showing signs of strain, and some studies cite oil as contributing to reductions in Seaside sparrows in the Gulf overall abundance.
article_snippet.sent: While aerial surveys taken in 2010 suggest tens of thousands of sea turtles were exposed to oil in coastal waters, government agencies are still gathering data and have not concluded if the spill will have long-term effects on sea turtle populations.
article_snippet.sent: It is unknown if a mother dolphin trying to revive a dead calf death had anything to do with the oil.