East Coast Bottlenose Dolphin Deaths Spike; 120+ Deaths On VA-NJ Coast Since June

[hatrack]

Seven bottlenose dolphins have washed up dead on Maryland shores in recent weeks, part of a larger mystery along the Mid-Atlantic coast, where alarmed scientists are working to find the cause of more than 120 dolphin deaths since June. The seven dolphin carcasses were found in the Chesapeake Bay and on beaches on Maryland's Atlantic coast during July.

In a typical July, marine biologists might respond to a single report of a dead dolphin, said Dr. Cindy Driscoll, veterinarian and fish and wildlife health program director for the state Department of Natural Resources.

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"It is alarming since it's much higher than normal and in such a short amount of time," said Jennifer Dittmar, the stranding coordinator for the National Aquarium in Baltimore. "As far as an overall effect it's having on the population, it's hard to tell right now." In Maryland, Driscoll said, 15 dead dolphins have washed ashore since the beginning of the year. In a normal year, the tally is more like eight to 10.

In Virginia, 87 dead dolphins have been found since June, most of them clustered along that state's portion of the Chesapeake. In a normal year, about 50 deaths would be reported there by this time of the year. In New Jersey, 21 dolphin carcasses have washed up this summer, compared with about a dozen in a normal year.

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http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/green/blog/bs-md-dolphin-deaths-20130805,0,388700.story

[Mojorabbit]

1. Lots here in Fl also washing up and manatees dying

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323420604578652121488403646.html
This article says
Marine mammal experts worry that the incidents may be the beginning of a widespread rise in dolphin mortality, similar to one of the late 1980s, when almost 800 dolphin bodies washed up on beaches from New Jersey to Florida. Scientists theorized that event was caused either by a biotoxin stemming from algae, or a virus similar to distemper.

"It's very alarming," said Trevor Spradlin, a NOAA marine mammal biologist. "The fear is if there is a massive disease outbreak or contamination outbreak, that it could have a serious impact on a local [dolphin] population or even a broader portion of the population."

The die-off of the bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the mid-Atlantic comes as scientists still are trying to explain a rise in bottlenose dolphin deaths in Florida's Indian River Lagoon, which began in January, and in parts of the Gulf of Mexico going back to 2010.