New research reveals potential effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on hormones in sea turtles. The 2010 oil spill exposed hundreds of thousands of sea turtles to oil and killed up to 86,500 juvenile Kemp's ridley turtles, a critically endangered species. A total of 319 live sea turtles were recovered following the spill and transported to rehabilitation facilities for medical evaluation and treatment. Scientists at the New England Aquarium's Anderson-Cabot Marine Life Center have developed a test to analyze the hormone aldosterone in sea turtle blood. The results showed that when the turtles arrived for treatment, they had abnormally elevated concentrations of aldosterone, corticosterone and thyroid hormones, which can affect metabolism, electrolytes and other processes.