Table 1.

Estimates of Gulf menhaden consumption foregone as a consequence of coastal seabirds killed by exposure to crude oil released from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico

Species	Body mass (g)	Energetic need (kJ/bird/day)	DWH bird loss (#)	Forage fish diet %	Menhaden consumption foregone (g × 106/day)		Prey length (mm)
Northern gannet Morus bassanus	3000	3400	35,000	84		13	25-305
Laughing gull Leucophaeus atricilla	320	680	270,000	45	11
Herring gull Larus argentatus	1200	1700	1600	20	0.07
Gull sp.	300	650	21,000	45	0.82
Total gulls						12
Brown pelican Pelecanus occidentalis	3700	4000	25,000	95	13		60–70
American white pelican P. erythrorhynchos	7500	6700	790	50	0.35		≤170
Total pelicans						13
Royal tern Thalasseus maximus	470	900	31,000	75	2.8		50–100
Sandwich tern T. sandvicensis	210	500	24,000	90	1.4		40–80
Least tern Sternula antillarum	42	160	39,000	80	0.67		20–90
Forster’s tern Sterna forsteri	160	410	15,000	80	0.66		10–100
Common tern Sterna hirundo	120	330	13,000	80	0.46		30–130
Caspian tern Hydroprogne caspia	660	1100	1100	80	0.13		75–300
Tern sp.	180	450	33,000	80	1.6
Total terns						7.7
Loons Gavia sp.	4100	2800	5500	90		1.8	30-250
Black skimmer Rynchops niger	300	650	14,000	60		0.73	30-120
Grebes Podilymbus/Podiceps sp.	420	530	5300	50		0.19	60-100
Cormorants Phalacrocorax sp.	1700	1500	790	50		0.079	30-400
Totals			535,000			49

Bold areas indicate species groups and subtotals. Data rounded to two significant figures, with menhaden foregone consumption aligned on the decimal. See Methods for details on computations