Intertidal wetlands, in particular temperate-zone salt
marshes, tropical mangrove and mudflats are environments
with high primary productivity that provide many
important environmental, economic and societal benefits,
such as protection from wave and storm damage, removal
of excess nutrients from water, provision of food and
habitats for fish, livestock and diverse wildlife [1
], and
they are generally considered to be a net sink for greenhouse
gases [2]. However, they are very susceptible to oil
pollution, owing to their frequent proximity to river out-
flows, oil refineries and industrial plants, as well as receiving
marine-derived oil from shipping, natural seeps, oildrilling
and blow-outs (Figure 1). These globally important
habitats, already threatened by sea-level rise and