Why can even small oil spills have a serious impact

Oil spills frequently kill marine mammals such as whales, dolphins, seals, and sea otters. ... Oil coats fur of otters and seals, leaving them vulnerable to hypothermia. Even when marine mammals escape the immediate effects, an oil spill can contaminate their food supply.

in the simplest terms possible, a small oil spill can drip into stormdrains and then it flows to rivers and bays/oceans then contaminating what water and poisoning the wildlife and plants there

it also supports my hypothesis. if you rest first you can squeeze the clothespin more times. from the data i collected the average of the eight people concluded exercise makes your muscles more fatigued and less able to squeeze the clothespin compared to resting before squeezing.