Demographic Clusters Identified within the Northern Gulf of Mexico Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncates) Unusual Mortality Event: January 2010 - June 2013
A multi-year unusual mortality event (UME) involving primarily common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncates) was declared in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM) with an initial start date of February 2010 and remains ongoing as of August 2014. To examine potential changing characteristics of the UME over time, we compared the number and demographics of dolphin strandings from January 2010 through June 2013 across the entire GoM as well as against baseline (1990-2009) GoM stranding patterns. Years 2010 and 2011 had the highest annual number of stranded dolphins since Louisiana’s record began, and 2011 was one of the years with the highest strandings for both Mississippi and Alabama. Statewide, annual numbers of stranded dolphins were not elevated for GoM coasts of Florida or Texas during the UME period. Demographic, spatial, and temporal clusters identified within this UME included increased strandings in northern coastal Louisiana and Mississippi (March-May 2010); Barataria Bay, Louisiana (August 2010-December 2011); Mississippi and Alabama (2011, including a high prevalence and number of stranded perinates); and multiple GoM states during early 2013. While the causes of the GoM UME have not been determined, the location and magnitude of dolphin strandings during and the year following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, including the Barataria Bay cluster from August 2010 to December 2011, overlap in time and space with locations that received heavy and prolonged oiling. There are, however, multiple known causes of previous GoM dolphin UMEs, including brevetoxicosis and dolphin morbillivirus. Additionally, increased dolphin strandings occurred in northern Louisiana and Mississippi before the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Identification of spatial, temporal, and demographic clusters within the UME suggest that this mortality event may involve different contributing factors varying by location, time, and bottlenose dolphin populations that will be better discerned by incorporating diagnostic information, including histopathology.
National Marine Mammal Foundation, San Diego, California, United States of America;National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Miami, Florida, United States of America;National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Miami, Florida, United States of America;National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Regional Office, St. Petersburg, Florida, United States of America;National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Miami, Florida, United States of America;NOAA Affiliate, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Miami, Florida, United States of America;NOAA Affiliate, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Miami, Florida, United States of America;Dauphin Island Sea Lab and University of South Alabama, Dauphin Island, Alabama, United States of America;Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, Melbourne Beach, Florida, United States of America;Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, Gulfport, Mississippi, United States of America;Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, United States of America;Marine Wildlife Response, Esther, Florida, United States of America;Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America;Gulf World Marine Park, Panama City Beach, Florida, United States of America;Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America;Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Galveston, Texas, United States of America;National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States of America
Recommended Citation:
Stephanie Venn-Watson,Lance Garrison,Jenny Litz,et al. Demographic Clusters Identified within the Northern Gulf of Mexico Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncates) Unusual Mortality Event: January 2010 - June 2013[J]. PLOS ONE,2015-01-01,10(2)