New Posts
  • Hi there guest! Welcome to PoliticalJack.com. Register for free to join our community?

Dolphins Dying off the East Coast

NightSwimmer

Senator
NOAA: Virus likely causing dolphin deaths

By BROCK VERGAKIS
Associated Press



NORFOLK, Va. (AP) -- Federal officials identified a virus Tuesday as the likely reason hundreds of bottlenose dolphins died along the East Coast, but they say there's little they can do to stop the deaths.

More than 330 dolphins have been stranded between New York and North Carolina since July 1, with nearly all of them dead by the time they wash up on shore, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
That's more than nine times the historical average for dolphin strandings in the region during July and August.

~~~~~~

Earlier this month, NOAA declared an unusual mortality event so it could provide additional resources to study what was behind the rapid increase in deaths - more than half of which have occurred in Virginia. At the time, they suspected the cetacean morbillivirus was causing the deaths, just as it did during the last major dolphin die-off. In 1987 and 1988, the virus was blamed for causing 740 dolphin deaths between New Jersey and Florida.

~~~~~~

Using the 1980s die-off as a guide, officials believe the disease and strandings will spread south and last through the spring of 2014. Eventually, remaining dolphins will become more resistant to the disease, just as they have before. Bottlenose dolphins typically live between 40 and 50 years, but a new generation of dolphins will also likely become susceptible to the disease again in the future.

There are two different stocks of dolphins that populate the affected region, with the northern stock having between 7,000 and 9,000 dolphins, while the southern stock has between 9,900 to 12,000 dolphins, according to federal estimates.
 
Top