From endangered sea turtles to the future of oil and gas exploration, the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico threatens many aspects of life in the region and beyond. The following Duke University experts are available to discuss the spill's impacts on both the environment and the future of offshore drilling.

-- Larry B. Crowder is the Stephen Toth Professor of Marine Biology at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment. Crowder is an expert on threatened and endangered sea turtles, sea birds and marine mammals. He can discuss the long-term impacts the oil spill in the Gulf might have on species and their habitats in the region, including the endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, which has important foraging and nursery grounds in the northern Gulf.

Crowder also can discuss potential impacts to species and habitats in the Florida Keys and up the East Coast, if currents and winds cause the spill to spread there.

More information on Crowder is available at his website: http://fds.duke.edu/db/Nicholas/msc/faculty/lcrowder.

-- Lincoln Pratson is a professor of energy and environment, also at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment. Pratson says offshore oil and gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, in general, has a very good safety record. But, he notes, events like this current oil spill in the Gulf can have a big impact not only on the immediate environment but on future oil and gas exploration -- especially in areas where it has not been done in the past.

Pratson is an expert on coastal and offshore geology, and has conducted studies on continental shelf geology and sediment transfer to help scientists and companies evaluate potential sites for offshore oil and gas exploration. He also studies the feasibility of using offshore aquifers for carbon sequestration.

More information on Pratson is available at his website: http://fds.duke.edu/db/Nicholas/eos/faculty/lp14.