Dolphin
carcasses are showing up at a rate that is seven times higher than
usual.
As
Dolphin Deaths Rise, U.S. Declares 'Unusual Mortality Event'
Federal
scientists investigating an unusually high number of dead bottlenose
dolphins washing up on the East Coast said on Thursday the carcasses
are showing up at a rate that is seven times higher than usual.
8
August, 2013
More
than 120 dead animals have been discovered since June from New Jersey
to Virginia, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's
Fisheries Service said.
Federal
scientists have declared it an "unusual mortality event"
and are investigating the cause, said Maggie Mooney-Seus of NOAA
Fisheries.
A
number of things can cause dolphins to strand, including harmful
algal blooms, infectious viruses, injuries due to ship strikes,
pollutants and human-made runoff, NOAA said.
Although
the cause has not been determined, early tissue analysis showed that
one suspect could be morbillivirus, an infectious pathogen, said Teri
Rowles, national marine mammal stranding coordinator for NOAA
Fisheries.
Marine
stranding response centers are collecting information on the deaths
and necropsies are being performed, but it could take several weeks
to determine what led to the deaths, the NOAA said.
In
this month alone, 28 dolphins were found dead along the shores of the
East Coast.
It
has been 25 years since the last large die-off of dolphins along the
U.S. coast. In 1987, more than 740 animals died of morbillivirus on
the coast from New Jersey to Florida.
Scientists
warned the public not to approach the animals if they see one
stranded because they could harbor an infectious disease.
They
ask that dead or stranded mammals in the Northeast be reported to
NOAA's marine mammal stranding network at 1-866-755-6622
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