21 dead dolphins found on Texas shore

[flashl]

Mar 4,

CHICAGO (AFP) - Marine officials are worried that they may be facing another significant dolphin die-off in the Gulf of Mexico after 21 of the marine mammals were found washed up on Texas beaches over two days.

The carcasses were discovered a year after about 70 dolphins washed up in the same area over a two week period.

"We are concerned, especially because (of) what happened last year," said Blair Maise, the marine mammal stranding coordinator for the national marine fisheries service.

"There may be more."

Researchers weren't able to determine a cause for last year's significant die-off because the animals' carcasses were too decomposed when they were discovered.

Yahoo

I know about dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico. I wonder how the marine officals and researchers missed that?

Success eludes dead-zone task force

A federal-state task force created to address the dead-zone problem in the Gulf of Mexico met in Chicago last week. They came together with a number of state and local officials but had little to report in regard to reducing or eliminating the zone. The results so far are not encouraging. More than seven years after the task force pledged to reduce the zone to a quarter of its size by 2015, it is still growing - to nearly 8,000 square miles last summer.
Donald Boesch, president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, has studied dead zones in the Gulf and the Chesapeake Bay since the 1980s. He says the task force is "on a fast march to nowhere."

...

Many of Louisiana's problems are homegrown, but dead zones in the Gulf are unwanted gifts, primarily from other parts of the nation. Huge areas of depleted oxygen are caused by agriculture runoff. It flows down the Mississippi and Atchafalaya, bearing fertilizer and other chemicals, the most harmful of which is nitrogen. In the oxygen-depleted zones that result, fish flee and bottom-feeding marine life is killed.

The Advertiser

[jakem]

1. Clearly Hillary trying to keep them from the polls.

oops. is this not GD-P?

[leftofcool]

3. LOL!!!!!!!!!

[lynnertic]

2. i'm surprised 'dead zones' = O2 depleted water would kill dolphins

because they breathe air with lungs. They're mammals.

[tekisui]

5. You may think I'm crazy.....

But, I believe whales and dolphins to be sentient, self-aware beings. When whales beach themselves or dolphins die in groups, I consider the possibility of suicide. They are trying to get our attention through protest suicide. We are damaging the world and the ocean we all share.

[MonkeyFunk]

7. Whales have been beaching themselves

for many centuries, probably milennia. What were they protesting?

[tekisui]

10. That's a valid point.

They may have had their reasons. And, I have no reason to believe that every beaching is protest. Perhaps being hunted by humans. I am curious to see if beachings have increased.

[lynnertic]

17. The US Navy has an ELF sonar that bursts whales' eardrums

recently a CA judge barred them from using it a week or two ago. Seems that each time a test is run there's a mass beaching.

[bdamomma]

23. ...

sad what we are doing to the animal life and the environment.:shrug:

[THUNDER HANDS]

13. nude beaches?

[axollot]

9. You may have a very valid point.....

I too believe they are very sentient beings but doubt this is a suicide protest but still a reflection on our trashing of the planet.

Cheers
Sandy

[tekisui]

11. Whether it is intentional by them or not,

the end blame is most likely the same, human caused pollution.

[mike_c]

15. not crazy at all....

I think most biologists would agree with you about their sentience and self-awareness-- I certainly do. How that translates into cognition is a dicier matter, mostly because cognition is so difficult to infer from behavior without anthropomorphizing.

[flashl]

6. IF they test the dolphins they may find dioxins. nt

[axollot]

8. They may be mammals.....

that breathe air, however, dead zones mean no food - dolphins eat fish and if there are dead zones that means no fish. Many 'pods' like whales travel the same route over and over - if an area no longer has food to sustain them, then they will die off in that area, most likely from starvation.

Other dead zones around the world also increase shark attacks for the same reason. If their normal food is no longer available but the beach is still used by bathers and surfers the amount of shark attacks in those areas have risen to unprecedented levels. (I'm reflecting on an area in South America - Pacific Coast line - that I saw a documentary on - that reviewed why one beach consistently had shark attacks and they found that it had a HUGE dead zone).

We have the ability to help rebuild these dead zones yet with all of our money going toward the Military Industrial Complex, we cannot afford to rebuild these areas, just like we cannot rebuild NOLA properly and the same reason we cannot afford universal health care.

Like any budget, if the money is properly distributed - which at this time we all know it is not - we will continue to see shit like this.

[lynnertic]

18. good point. I doubt it was the dead zone. I think it's something more nefarious -

Horrible toxins or banned sonar.

[genie_weenie]

32. Please see my post #27.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2966343&mesg_id=2967060">The #27.

[Squatch]

16. The fishies they feed on need dissolved O2

[jus_the_facts]

4. Yeah let's just keep TALKING about actually doing something to stop this

and all the other things fucking up the world...while absolutely nothing is ever done to even slow it down...much less stop it...oooOOOooo I know...let's get a DEMOCRAT elected to SAVE US ALL from ourselves. :eyes: :nopity:

[Kajsa]

14. I see.

So those of us who have gotten involved to help stop the Navy's sonar testing
in our oceans have done nothing?

Right!

[jus_the_facts]

20. Oh keep me abreast of how those negotiations are going with the Pentagon...

...I'm sure they're all ready, willing and able to comply with what WE THE PEOPLE think is best. Riiiight?!

[Kajsa]

24. Here.

http://www.nrdc.org/media/2008/080204b.asp

and,

http://www.nrdc.org/media/2008/080206a.asp

[jus_the_facts]

26. Well when they get them stop that then maybe they'll do something about this...

....or maybe we can just continue to hope in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up first. :think:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x877589

[Kajsa]

30. You never answered the question lynnertic

asked you,

What have you done?

btw;. What's with the big sarcasm regarding Democrats?

Are you on the wrong website?

Back to the question you are dodging,

What have you done?

-besides berate everyone here for not doing anything?

Let's hear it, oh knowledgeable one.

[jus_the_facts]

33. I have voted my entire adult life for democrats...

...the elected officials of our gov't who are supposed to make sure these sorts of things don't happen or at least does something about it in hindsight...but OH LOOKIT...here we are...same shit different century....I dont' have my head up my ass and I VOTE which the majority of the population refuses to do...and the undeniable FACT is it's not doing a goddamn bit much good regardless of who's in power.

[lynnertic]

36. I'm sorry that it sucks so badly.

That turtle was hard to look at.

Dear Jus_, the people who are on this board are here because we want change and seek solace or inspiration or at least, a platform from which to scream our frustrations!

Every day more and more people join us.

So my dear, go ahead and scream and holler and bitch and get it all out of your system. We're here on your side.

You may not see it today but things are changing from the bottom to the top. We're having growing pains and healing crises, and every day that more bad behavior is brought to light is another day that we win just a little bit more ground.

One day I hope that things for you improve so much that you feel better about the world.

:hug:

[jus_the_facts]

37. Thanks....but being from Louisiana my hope levels go beyond extremely low...

...after being here on DU for 5 years and after Katrina...it's been my amazing power of observation that gov't has FAILED from the bottom to the top and I think it will continue...so cynicism is my only lagniappe unfortunately.

[lynnertic]

19. so tell me what are you going to do?

Besides sit here and act like a child.

[Kajsa]

25. ---

I couldn't have said it better.

:applause:

[jus_the_facts]

28. Is this the most mature solution you can come up with....

....better sit there and think a lot harder genius! :eyes:


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2966343&mesg_id=2966665

[Kajsa]

29. You never answered the question,

but you are big on ridicule, condemnation and put downs.

What have you done?

[lynnertic]

31. Aw come on, I was making a JOKE there

and being silly.

It's a horrible problem and I have no idea how to solve it.

But it is true that one way to re-oxidize water is to simply pump air into it, that's how we keep from suffocating our fish, and how we keep anaerobic pathogens in check in aquariums.

[mike_c]

12. dead zones don't directly affect dolphins or other marine mammals...

...or at least not the way they affect most aquatic life. Dead zones happen because anoxic conditions become stabilized at depth. Anoxic stratification doesn't directly affect dolphins because they're air breathers. It can affect their food supply however, or perhaps lead to outbreaks of anaerobic pathogens.

[FirstLight]

21. I have a question...

Are the Dolphins living in these areas, or just passing through...?

I know it sounds trite, but one can hope that after a few years they will re-route themselves...though that may be a moot point because the area is growing...


damn, we are SO screwed... I hope we can salvage a good 50 years before ... well, you know

[lynnertic]

22. we need to get one a them giant aquarium filters

to bubble 02 down into the dead zone.

[genie_weenie]

27. This is more likely the VX chemical weapons the US dumped in the Ocean than

the dead zones. Seriously, via Deep Sea News http://scienceblogs.com/deepseanews/2007/06/munitions_dumping_at_sea.php">US Munitions dumping at Sea.

[1776Forever]

34. Did Navy Sonar Exercises Kill Dolphin? Article Link -

Did Navy Sonar Exercises Kill Dolphin?
By: John Freeman | Wednesday, March 05, 2008 12:42:00 PM
Last updated: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 12:42:00 PM

http://www.thelog.com/news/logNewsArticle.aspx?x=5448

Northern right whale dolphin found off San Nicolas Island reportedly had ear canal injury.
SAN DIEGO — A dolphin’s stranding death on Navy-controlled San Nicolas Island in late January has further ignited the intense legal battle between the Navy and environmental groups.

The Navy won the right to resume its high-intensity offshore sonar exercises after President George W. Bush issued a waiver in early January. The waiver was later called “unconstitutional” by the state attorney general, and a federal court ruled that the Navy could not do further sonar exercises off Southern California without court-imposed limits. The Navy said it may appeal the latest decision -- a Feb. 29 ruling by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that supports the previous U.S. District Court decision — to the U.S. Supreme Court, and said its own procedures were sufficient to safeguard marine mammals during sonar exercises.

...............
http://www.care2.com/c2c/groups/disc.html?gpp=7648&pst=502812&archival=1&posts=1

Navy killing Dolphins off Kauai August 30, 2006 5:30 PM

I visited Kauai last October, 2005 and was delighted by the numbers of spinner dolphin that played in the waters very near shore. When on a Scuba boat, the dolphins would jump and spin in mid-air as they played in the wake of the boat. We watched them play for several miles as we headed toward the boat dock after a day of diving.

I just revisited Kauai about 2 weeks ago, at the beginning of August 2006. I was disgusted to hear that the US Navy had been conducting sonar tests in the waters off Kauai. The frequencies that they were using were actually killing the dolphins in the area. Thousands and thousands of dolphins were killed, with the Navy reportedly saying that they didn't care what happened to the wildlife. Their testing was more important. I was devastated. We again went Scuba diving, and this time, there were no dolphin spotted at all. According to our boat captain, those dolphins that were not killed moved on to other waters to protect themselves.

............

Active Sonar: How It Harms Marine Life

Military active sonar works like a floodlight, emitting sound waves that sweep across tens or even hundreds of miles of ocean, revealing objects in their path. But that kind of power requires the use of extremely loud sound. Each loudspeaker in the LFA system's wide array, for example, can generate 215 decibels' worth -- sound as intense as that produced by a twin-engine fighter jet at takeoff. Some mid-frequency sonar systems can put out over 235 decibels, as loud as a Saturn V rocket at launch. Even 100 miles from the LFA system, sound levels can approach 160 decibels, well beyond the Navy's own safety limits for humans.

Evidence of the harm such a barrage of sound can do began to surface in March 2000, when whales of four different species stranded themselves on beaches in the Bahamas after a U.S. Navy battle group used active sonar in the area. Investigators found that the whales were bleeding internally around their brains and ears. Although the Navy initially denied responsibility, the government's investigation established with virtual certainty that the strandings were caused by its use of active sonar. Since the incident, the area's population of Cuvier's beaked whales has all but disappeared, leading researchers to conclude that they either abandoned their habitat or died at sea.

http://www.nrdc.org/wildlife/marine/sonar.asp#news

:cry:

[LSK]

35. dolphins are mammals that breathe air

:shrug:

[Stanley Nickels]

38. Also a 40ft sperm whale washed up in the last few months

Very rare occurrence as big whales are sparse in the Gulf of Mexico

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/outdoors/tompkins/5557961.html