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Breaking: Spike in Baby Dolphin Deaths in the Gulf of Mexico

Tonka

Tonka

Well-known member
sOURCE:
http://blog.nwf.org/wildlifepromise...in-baby-dolphin-deaths-in-the-gulf-of-mexico/

Breaking: Spike in Baby Dolphin Deaths in the Gulf of Mexico
from Wildlife Promise
0 2/21/2011 // Miles Grant // BP oil spill, dolphins, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf oil disaster

Dolphins swim next to oil booms at Petit Bois Island, MS, June 2010 (via Flickr's Deepwater Horizon Response)
Since the first days of the Gulf oil disaster, the National Wildlife Federation has been warning that it takes years to assess the full impacts of a catastrophic oil spill. Today we?re hearing horrific details from scientists on dolphin deaths in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon gusher...MORE
 
Re: Breaking: Spike in Baby Dolphin Deaths in the Gulf of Mexico

Baby dolphin deaths rise along Gulf Coast

By Leigh Coleman
BILOXI, Mississippi | Tue Feb 22, 2011 8:20pm EST

BILOXI, Mississippi (Reuters) - Marine scientists are examining the deaths of 26 baby dolphins whose carcasses have washed ashore along the U.S. Gulf Coast this year, the bulk of them since last week, researchers said on Tuesday.
...

That tally is more than 10 times the number normally found washed up along those states during this time of the year, which is calving season for some 2,000 to 5,000 dolphins in the region, said Moby Solangi, director of the Institute of Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport.

"It's an anomaly," he told Reuters by telephone, explaining that the gestation period for dolphins runs 11 or 12 months, meaning that calves born now would have been conceived at least two months before the oil spill began.

Full text:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/23/us-dolphins-gulf-idUSTRE71L7T620110223
 
Re: Breaking: Spike in Baby Dolphin Deaths in the Gulf of Mexico

5 more baby dolphins found dead, total 28.
"Who knows? But we're going to do a forensics study. We're doing the necropsies, the pathology, the toxicology. And try to get to the bottom of it," said Solangi. Scientists have ruled out possible effects from the BP oil spill.
http://blog.al.com/wire/2011/02/five_more_baby_dolphins_found.html

(Interesting that they can rule out BP before they've finished their studies.)
 
Re: Breaking: Spike in Baby Dolphin Deaths in the Gulf of Mexico

Scientists scrutinize rise in baby dolphin deaths

Associated Press - February 24, 2011 4:24 PM ET

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Scientists are trying to figure out what killed 53 bottlenose dolphins -- many of them babies -- so far this year...

Calves and fetuses made up at least 85% of the deaths in Alabama, 60% or more of those in Mississippi and Florida and 20% in Louisiana, according to NOAA figures.

Full text:
http://www.ksla.com/Global/story.asp?S=14136204
 
Re: Breaking: Spike in Baby Dolphin Deaths in the Gulf of Mexico

I saw this article a few months ago and toxins were the first thing mentioned though other primary causes were considered. I have not been able to find any study results on this, though. Maybe someone else knows where that could be?

The event sounds similar to the current one as far as the age range involved. I don't see how toxins could possibly be ruled out scientifically at this point as being involved in the current mortality event.

http://articles.sfgate.com/2007-03-19/news/17237147_1_dolphin-carcasses-canine-distemper-number-of-dead-bottlenose

Dolphins found dead on Texas beaches / Unexplained fatalities include newborns
March 19, 2007
By Los Angeles Times

??Investigators theorize that toxins seeping into the water off the Louisiana coast might have killed the dolphins, which were then carried by currents to the Texas shore??
Click to expand...
 
Re: Breaking: Spike in Baby Dolphin Deaths in the Gulf of Mexico

Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011
Researchers carry a heavy load with dolphin deaths
By KAREN NELSON - klnelson@sunherald.com ​

​

MISSISSIPPI SOUND -- Megan Broadway sits on the bow of the Dolphin Rescue II on Tuesday, bundled in cold-weather gear and headed for Horn Island.
​
...

It?s hard to remember totals or exact locations of the babies picked up along the Mississippi and Alabama coastlines recently, there have been so many. Her boss at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies calls it an explosion this month, really in just the past 10 days. And this is well before the birthing season goes into full swing.​
...

​
​
Those who are watching the statistics rise and the data come in call it an anomaly. Some look to the 2010 BP oil spill, when these babies were in the womb. Broadway has no comment.
​





Read more: http://www.sunherald.com/2011/02/26/2895604/5-more-dead-infant-dolphins-wash.html#ixzz1FDTG5YTE
 
Re: Breaking: Spike in Baby Dolphin Deaths in the Gulf of Mexico

Note - This article was written before The Deepwater Horizon oil spill
(Feb.22,2010)

Dolphins' Health Shed Light on Human and Ocean Health

ScienceDaily (Feb. 22, 2010) ? A panel of governmental, academic and non-profit scientists speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) unveiled research suggesting that diseases found in dolphins are similar to human diseases and can provide clues into how human health might be affected by exposure to contaminated coastal water or seafood.

"Dolphins and humans are both mammals, and their diet includes much of the same seafood that we consume. Unlike us, however, they are exposed to potential ocean health threats such as toxic algae or poor water quality 24 hours a day," said Carolyn Sotka of the NOAA Oceans and Human Health Initiative and lead organizer of the session. "Our ecological and physiological similarities make dolphins an important 'sentinel species' to not only warn us of health risks, but also provide insight into how our health can benefit from new medical discoveries."

More...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100218173116.htm
 
Re: Breaking: Spike in Baby Dolphin Deaths in the Gulf of Mexico

Surge in Dolphin Deaths Raises Concern

Molly Edmonds | Posted on 28 February 2011 | Tags: dolphin, Gulf of Mexico, gulf oil disaster, oiled wildlife

http://www.defendersblog.org/2011/02/surge-in-dolphin-deaths-raise-concern/

These days, it isn?t only oil showing up on Gulf beaches. Last week brought a surge of stories on the high numbers of dead baby dolphins washing ashore in Gulf states.
As of Wednesday, the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (IMMS) reported that as many as 30 dolphins have been found dead since January in Mississippi and Alabama, and 24 of them calves. The Sun Herald reported five dead calves found in Alabama in just one day.
Scientists are concerned about these abnormally high numbers. The number of dolphin strandings so far this year is already more than ten times greater than what it?s been the last two years. Also unusual is the timing of these deaths. Birthing season for dolphin typically begins later, in March. Clearly, something is wrong.
Although scientists have not ruled out causes such as extreme cold temperatures, many are looking to BP?s Deepwater Horizon oil spill last spring as a potential culprit. IMMS experts, joined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), remain busy conducting autopsies. Hopefully, further testing will allow them to get to the bottom of this troubling phenomenon soon.
 
Re: Breaking: Spike in Baby Dolphin Deaths in the Gulf of Mexico

Institute for Marine Mammal Studies
Website dealing with the dead dolphin calves.

http://www.imms.org/Article_2011_Feb_21CalvesStrand.php

Contains list of press coverage on the story and a short article from which this excerpt was taken:

A prime suspect in the 2010 January spike in deaths was a very cold winter, Mase said.
The number of oil cleanup workers on beaches may be affecting the dead dolphin sightings, she said.
"We are generally experiencing higher stranding rates since the oil spill and a lot of that may include the fact that we have people on these barrier islands that don't usually have people on them in Mississippi and Louisiana," Mase said.
But the dead calves are also showing up on the mainland, she said.
Mase said there was a similar event in 2007 when a number of dolphins, including many calves, were found dead on Texas beaches.
 
Re: Breaking: Spike in Baby Dolphin Deaths in the Gulf of Mexico

Experts say dolphins are our "canary in the coal mine"

Posted:<SCRIPT type=text/javascript orgFontSize="9px"> wnRenderDate('Monday, February 28, 2011 10:56 PM EST', '', true);</SCRIPT> Feb 28, 2011 9:56 PM CST <NOSCRIPT orgFontSize="10px"></NOSCRIPT><!--END wnDate-->Updated:<SCRIPT type=text/javascript orgFontSize="9px"> wnRenderDate('Monday, February 28, 2011 11:40 PM EST', '', true);</SCRIPT> Feb 28, 2011 10:40 PM CST

By Rebecca Powers -

GULFPORT, MS (WLOX) - "The canary in the coal mine." That's what dolphins are, according to scientists at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport.

They say dolphins are the best barometer for the health of our environment. And a 15 fold spike in dead dolphins and their calves has them very concerned.

Monday, two more dolphins washed ashore in Gulfport and Pass Christian. That brings the number of dolphins that have died in recent weeks along the shores of the Gulf Coast region to 77, and the number of stillborns to 36.
...
"These animals are top of the food chain. They're mammals like you and I. They give birth to babies and are given milk, so they are good biological indicators of the environment. So ultimately, what happens to them will happen to us. So basically, they are the canary in the mine."

Full text:
http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=14159600
 
Re: Breaking: Spike in Baby Dolphin Deaths in the Gulf of Mexico

Dolphin tissue testing yet to begin

Posted:<SCRIPT type=text/javascript orgFontSize="9px"> wnRenderDate('Friday, March 18, 2011 4:54 PM EST', '', true);</SCRIPT> Mar 18, 2011 3:54 PM CDT <NOSCRIPT orgFontSize="10px"></NOSCRIPT><!--END wnDate-->Updated:<SCRIPT type=text/javascript orgFontSize="9px"> wnRenderDate('Friday, March 18, 2011 7:56 PM EST', '', true);</SCRIPT> Mar 18, 2011 6:56 PM CDT

By Jeff Lawson ?

GULFPORT, MS (WLOX) - More dead dolphins washed up on the beaches of South Mississippi this week, but still no one seems to know what is killing them.

Gulfport's Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, led by Dr. Moby Solangi, has been taking tissue samples from the dead dolphins, and sending those off to the federal government. That's been going on for months.

But now, it has been learned that the feds have yet to send those samples off to be tested. So, the obvious question is why?

"It is really a question you should be asking the federal government," IMMS Director Dr. Solangi told us.

So we tried to ask federal officials, but got no answer. The only thing we know at this point is a letter, sent by NOAA to agencies gathering the samples, stated there is an ongoing criminal investigation. The dead dolphins are considered potential evidence in a lawsuit the federal government could file against BP.

So those dolphin tissue samples sit, somewhere in Washington.

.../
http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=14279846
 
Re: Breaking: Spike in Baby Dolphin Deaths in the Gulf of Mexico

This news is disappointing and worrisome. We need to face what is going on. I just saw this article about 3 Gulf science divers who had alarming blood work and health problems.

http://bpoilslick.blogspot.com/2011/03/gulf-divers-experiencing-health.html

Perhaps the dolphin deaths could benefit us all and help unravel what happened to these divers and also protect others. I think it is urgent work.
 
Re: Breaking: Spike in Baby Dolphin Deaths in the Gulf of Mexico

Source:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0017394

Concurrent Exposure of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) to Multiple Algal Toxins in Sarasota Bay, Florida, USA

Sentinel species such as bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) can be impacted by large-scale mortality events due to exposure to marine algal toxins. In the Sarasota Bay region (Gulf of Mexico, Florida, USA), the bottlenose dolphin population is frequently exposed to harmful algal blooms (HABs) of Karenia brevis and the neurotoxic brevetoxins (PbTx; BTX) produced by this dinoflagellate. Live dolphins sampled during capture-release health assessments performed in this region tested positive for two HAB toxins; brevetoxin and domoic acid (DA)...

Our findings demonstrate that dolphins within Sarasota Bay are commonly exposed to two algal toxins, and provide the impetus to further explore the potential long-term impacts on bottlenose dolphin health...more from the source.
 
Re: Breaking: Spike in Baby Dolphin Deaths in the Gulf of Mexico

I was looking through historical UME data on the NOAA website and there is very little data disclosed since about 2004. At least back then the preliminary report was publicly available detailing any toxins found, even if there was no conclusion made on the cause of death.
 
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