By JANET McCONNAUGHEY and REBECCA SANTANA
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Ten years after the nation's biggest offshore oil spill fouled its waters, the Gulf of Mexico sparkles in the sunlight and its fish are safe to eat. But scientists who have spent $500 million from BP researching effects of the Deepwater Horizon disaster have found much to be concerned about. Numbers of dolphins and whales and even insects are down since the spill, which accelerated the loss of tidal marshes. Researchers also discovered that plumes of oil fall down to sea beds like ocean snow, killing great swaths of ancient deep-sea coral. They say the recovery has been remarkable, but losses remain profound.

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