Seabird specimens from the Selendang Ayu oil spill archived at the University of Alaska Museum in Fairbanks, Alaska.

In this study, we rescued specimens and data from the 2004 oil spill in the Aleutian Islands where the M/V Selendang Ayu ship ran aground on Unalaska Island spilling over 350,000 gallons of fuel oil and resulting in the salvage of over 1,500 seabird carcasses. We preserved genetic samples, skeletons, and skins and disseminated the associated data. We archived specimens of seabirds, which will provide a biological record not only of the birds, but also of the ecosystem and factors influencing it. These specimens were used to investigate food web dynamics (using stable isotopes), foraging success (through hormone levels deposited in feathers), contaminants levels (e.g., heavy metals), population demography (age and sex structure), genetic diversity and population genetics (germane to issues in conservation), genomics, morphology, and particularly in this case impacts of oil spills on species and age/sex groups, and human impacts on Bering Sea nonbreeding bird communities. Data base includes species, date, location, and parts saved for 1116 specimens in a CSV file. Data is also searchable on Arctos (http://arctos.database.museum/home.cfm) and VertNet (http://vertnet.org/).