Patrick Semansky / AP

In this Oct. 14, 2010 picture, an oil-impacted area of marsh grass is seen in Bay Jimmy near the Louisiana coast. Six months after the rig explosion that led to the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, damage to the Gulf of Mexico can be measured more in increments than extinctions, say scientists polled by The Associated Press.

Patrick Semansky / AP

An oil-covered crab crawls on a glove worn by Plaquemines Parish coastal zone director P.J. Hahn in Bay Jimmy near the Louisiana coast on Oct. 14. Scientists polled by the AP saw a hit for the region's wetlands, an already weakened massive natural incubator for shrimp, crabs, oysters and fish.

New pictures of BP oil spill aftermath

More from the AP poll of scientists:

There is no comprehensive calculation for how much marshland was oiled, but estimates range from less than a square mile to just a handful of square miles. Regardless, in the big picture that's hardly alarming: Louisiana loses roughly 25 square miles of marsh each year due to a host of environmental and manmade causes. The state is the site of one of the most ferocious rates of land loss in the world.

Read the full AP report, and see an interesting information graphic on the story, at this link.

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