document: USGS Finds 2,000-year-old Coral Near BP Oil Spill : Was it Damaged ? The USGS has found 2,000-year-old coral near the BP oil spill site in the Gulf of Mexico . Scientists began studying the black coral before the oil began spewing into the ocean from the blown out well on April 20 , 2010 . The coral is about 21 miles away from the site . Scientists are concerned about the damage that the BP oil spill may have done to the 2,000-year-old coral in the Gulf of Mexico . USGS scientist Nancy Prouty said , '' `` They 're extremely old and extremely slow-growing . And there are big questions about their vulnerability and their ability for recovery . '' '' These black coral colonies are important in the ocean because they provide a place for fish and other marine life to live . They are extremely slow growing , so any damage they may have suffered will take centuries to fix . The BP oil spill has been a terrible tragedy for the Gulf of Mexico during this past year . If these corals have been seriously damaged , that is just another tragedy to add to the disaster . Because the corals feed on organic matter that sinks to the floor of the ocean , scientists believe that it will take a long time for it to recover from a disturbance in its ecosystem . The USGS is still working to determine if the BP oil spill has damaged the 2,000-year-old coral . Maps show the underwater slick moving away from the coral , but some dead corals have been found . This could have been due to the fact that the oil slick on top of the water was over the black coral colony during the spill . The BP oil spill has been terrible . While things appear to be getting better , the full extent of the damage from this spill may never be known . There is no doubt that the ocean and animals who live in it are not yet the same , and they may not be for many decades or centuries . © Copyright : News Today Online by Kate James at Gather.com
extractive_keyphrases: damaged fish organic matter coral working oil slick disturbance disaster terrible vulnerability bp oil spill ocean concerned centuries ability extremely finds sinks ecosystem scientist maps colonies decades damage spill gulf suffered extent usgs marine important underwater slick growing recovery spewing found place black animals blown out well 2000yearold tragedy dead news today online fix
abstractive_keyphrases: terrible tragedy mexico scientists extremely old gulf of mexico slick marine life extremely slowgrowing scientist nancy prouty