There is now evidence that oil from BP’s Gulf spill has entered the food chain at the microscopic level—proving that while the oil is mostly out of sight, it is not out of our lives.

According to an AP report today, larvae of the blue crab have been found to contain oil they absorbed and will pass on to larger predators that eat them. As AP says:

The government said last week that three-quarters of the spilled oil has been removed or naturally dissipated from the water. But the crab larvae discovery was an ominous sign that crude had already infiltrated the Gulf’s vast food web—and could affect it for years to come.

"It would suggest the oil has reached a position where it can start moving up the food chain instead of just hanging in the water," said Bob Thomas, a biologist at Loyola University in New Orleans. "Something likely will eat those oiled larvae … and then that animal will be eaten by something bigger and so on."

Tiny creatures might take in such low amounts of oil that they could survive, Thomas said. But those at the top of the chain, such as dolphins and tuna, could get fatal "megadoses."