We report a complete reproductive failure in a population of seabirds as an indirect result of the Bahia Paraiso' oil spill near Palmer Station in Antarctica. Mortality among nestling South Polar skuas was highly compressed in time and was coincident with the spill. Adults were observed to forage in oil slicks and became fouled, but there was no transfer of oil to eggs or chicks. Young showed no evidence of toxicity (low growth rates or hemorrhagic gastroenteritis) and adult mortality was minimal. Instances of parental neglect increased 10-fold after the spill and undefended chicks were attacked by neighboring skuas. \ \ re suggest that exposure to oil caused a short-term disruption of normal parental attendance behavior which exposed young to fatal intraspecific aggression. This example emphasizes that behavior and ecological interactions play major roles in determining the effects of oil on species. While these factors may be understood post hoc, correctly predicting the effects of environmental perturbations on species is a formidable task.

1Due to climate change and habitat conversion, estimates of the number of species extinctions 2 over the next century are alarming. Coming up with solutions for conservation will require many 3 different approaches, including exploring the extinction processes of recently extinct species. 4Given that parrots are the most threatened group of birds, information regarding parrot extinction 5 is especially pressing. While most recent parrot extinctions have been island endemics, the 6 Carolina parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) had an 18th-century range covering nearly half of 7