Hello all, On behalf of our team, I am pleased to share a recent open access publication in Diseases of Aquatic Organisms:
Bloodgood JCG, Deming AC, Colegrove KM, Russell ML, Díaz Clark C, Carmichael RH (2023) Causes of death and pathogen prevalence in bottlenose dolphins *Tursiops truncatus* stranded in Alabama, USA, between 2015 and 2020, following the *Deepwater Horizon* oil spill. Dis Aquat Org 155:87-102. https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03746 Abstract: Between 2010 and 2014, an unusual mortality event (UME) involving bottlenose dolphins *Tursiops* *truncatus* occurred in the northern Gulf of Mexico, associated with the *Deepwater* *Horizon* oil spill (DWHOS). Cause of death (COD) patterns in bottlenose dolphins since then have not been analyzed, and baseline prevalence data for *Brucella* *ceti* and cetacean morbillivirus, 2 pathogens previously reported in this region, are lacking. We analyzed records from bottlenose dolphins stranded in Alabama from 2015 to 2020 with necropsy and histological findings to determine COD (n = 108). This period included another UME in 2019 associated with prolonged freshwater exposure. A subset of individuals that stranded during this period were selected for molecular testing for *Brucella* spp. and *Morbillivirus* spp. Causes of death for all age classes were grouped into 6 categories, including (1) human interaction, (2) infectious disease, (3) noninfectious disease (prolonged freshwater exposure and degenerative), (4) trauma, (5) multifactorial, and (6) unknown. Two additional categories unique to perinates included fetal distress and *in* *utero* pneumonia. Human interaction was the most common primary COD (19.4%) followed closely by infectious disease (17.6%) and noninfectious disease (freshwater exposure; 13.9%). *Brucella* was detected in 18.4% of the 98 animals tested, but morbillivirus was not detected in any of the 66 animals tested. *Brucella* was detected in some moderately to severely decomposed carcasses, indicating that it may be beneficial to test a broad condition range of stranded animals. This study provides valuable information on COD in bottlenose dolphins in Alabama following the DWHOS and is the first to examine baseline prevalence of 2 common pathogens in stranded animals from this region. Best, Mackenzie Russell Alabama Marine Mammal Stranding Network Coordinator Dauphin Island Sea Lab mruss...@disl.org
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