To achieve this aim of conducting a long-term analysis, Ocean Alliance monitored the top apex predator of the region, the Sperm whales. A resident, non-migratory population of Sperm whales resides in the Northern Gulf of Mexico in close proximity to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. As apex predators, Sperm whales act as bio indicators of the health of the marine ecosystem in a toxicological context, demonstrating the effects of three key processes: bioaccumulation, biomagnification and the generation effect. These processes also make Sperm whales, and other apex predators, at greater risk from toxic pollution. Significantly, the data which was collected could be placed into the global data-set acquired during The Voyage of the Odyssey program.