Feb 27, 2009 3:57 pm US/Eastern
Florida Keys Dolphins Are Dying At A Higher Rate
KEY LARGO, Fla. (CBS4) ―
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Bottlenose Dolphins are dying at a higher rate in the Florida Keys.
CBS
Bottlenose Dolphins are a welcome, well-known part of South Florida. But an increase in dolphin deaths in the Keys has some local experts worried. So far, the cause of the dolphin deaths is a mystery.
Their powerful bodies glide through the Gulf waters with grace and ease. Whether they're hunting for fish or riding the wake of a boat, dolphins seem unstoppable and carefree. But marine mammal expert Robert Lingenfelser worries the bottlenose dolphins are in danger. He is the director of the Marine Mammal Conservancy, a non-profit organization which rescues and rehabilitates dolphins and whales in the Keys.
Lingenfelser says something is killing members of the pod of dolphins, who he believes live in Florida Bay in the Upper Keys. Lingenfelser believes there is a group of about 50 dolphins who live in the Bay near Islamorada, and at least 6 the dolphins who have died are from that pod.
"Normally we might see one every four or five years, it's very rare that we see this many animals die in this small of an area in one year," Lingenfelser told
CBS4 Reporter Natalia Zea. The dolphins all died in 2008. It started in January when the carcass of a young male was found near Long Key. Four months later, an adult male turned up near Lignumvitae Key. In June, a male calf was found in Long Key. The next month an adult male surfaced there, and a young male was found the month after that.
In October, a year-old male was found floating in Little Buttonwood Sound. A seventh dolphin, a year-old female, turned up dead in Key West in November. Experts are waiting for genetic tests to confirm whether she was part of the same Florida Bay pod.
The most frustrating part for Lingenfelser is that despite his 25 years of experience with marine mammals, he can't figure out why they're dying.
Lingenfelser and his staff at the Marine Mammal Conservancy in Key Largo performed necropsies, or animal autopsies on each of the dolphins. Most of them died young, though dolphins usually live into their 30s and 40s.
Experts in Virginia Key are examining tissue samples for signs of infection or disease, but Lingenfelser doesn't believe disease is the culprit because most of the dolphins had stomachs full of fish when they died. "Full bellies tell us this was a healthy, eating animal and something caused it to die really quickly. It doesn't look like they've been sick," Lingenfelser said.
Experts are looking into whether toxins or other pollutants in Florida Bay are responsible for the deaths. One big snag in that theory though is that fish and other animals have not died in higher numbers in the Bay.
While scientists search for the cause of the dolphin deaths, folks in the Keys who love to see the dolphins jumping through the turquoise waters have their own theories.
Bill and Dee Galligher believe something in the water is to blame. Dee guessed, "Something sunken out here in the water, maybe it was poisonous."
Even the couple can't agree. Bill explained, "I'd be more inclined to think it was something that washed into the water. Something from the land slid into the environment somehow."
Matthew and Jennifer Cohen spent their honeymoon in the Keys. They were upset to learn about the deaths. "It's gotta be something we're doing, they're not just dying off from natural causes," Jennifer said.
No specific water quality studies have been done as a result of the dolphin deaths, but Lingenfelser is consulting with Florida scientists who regularly test the water, to make sure nothing is out of sorts.
Experts from the National Marine Fishery Service are looking into the dolphin deaths, but they say not enough dolphins have died for them to consider it an "Unusual Mortality Event." If it is declared "unusual," that would trigger federal funding and a full-scale investigation.
They also disagree with Lingenfelser, saying as many as three dolphins turn up dead every year in the Keys, and though there was an increase in dolphin deaths in 2008, they do not consider it unusual. The Fishery Service says there are more than 500 dolphins living in Florida Bay, and they don't know of a specific pod of 50 that remains close to Islamorada.
Still, Lingenfelser is determined to find out what is killing the dolphins; not only for their sake, but for the health of our oceans as a whole.
"Dolphins are important to Florida Bay. Think about the circle of life: everything has a purpose and one thing helps maintain control of another," Lingnenfelser said. "For example, dolphins help maintain the populations of certain species of fish by feeding on those fish; if those fish stocks got out of control, they would overeat smaller organisms and on and on and you could literally crash that circle."
It's a mystery that remains unsolved in South Florida's watery backyard.
Click here to read more about the Marine Mammal Conservancy.
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