Review of historical unusual mortality events (UMEs) in the Gulf of Mexico (1990-2009): providing context for the multi-year northern Gulf of Mexico cetacean UME declared in 2010

Litz, Jenny A.; Baran, Melody A.; Bowen-Stevens, Sabrina R.; Carmichael, Ruth H.; Colegrove, Kathleen M.; Garrison, Lance P.; Fire, Spencer E.; Fougeres, Erin; Hardy, R. A.; Holmes, Secret; Jones, W. N.; Mase-Guthrie, Blair; Odell, Daniel K.; Rosel, Patricia E.; Saliki, Jeremiah T.; Shannon, Delphine; Shippee, Steve; Smith, Suzanne M.; Stratton, Elizabeth; Tumlin, Mandy C.; Whitehead, Heidi; Worthy, Graham A. J.; Rowles, Teresa K.

doi:10.3354/dao02807

Cited by 57 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…The final 'Inter-primary' estimate is considered unreliable due to confounding factors (see 'Results'), and final 'Interval' estimate should be viewed with caution from 1980 to 1987 (Wells & Scott 1990). However, it was not surprising that we found lower survival rates in Barataria Bay dolphins given that an unusual mortality event (UME) in the northern GoM overlapped our study period (Litz et al 2014, Venn-Watson et al 2015. A UME as defined under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (116 USC 1421h) can be declared based on a number of criteria.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival, density, and abundance of common bottlenose dolphins in Barataria Bay (USA) following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

McDonald¹,

Hornsby²,

Speakman³

et al. 2017

Endang. Species. Res.

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To assess potential impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in April 2010, we conducted boat-based photo-identification surveys for common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, USA (~230 km 2 , located 167 km WNW of the spill center). Crews logged 838 h of survey effort along pre-defined routes on 10 occasions between late June 2010 and early May 2014. We applied a previously unpublished spatial version of the robust design capture-recapture model to estimate survival and density. This model used photo locations to estimate density in the absence of study area boundaries and to separate mortality from permanent emigration. To estimate abundance, we applied density estimates to saltwater (salinity >~8 ppt) areas of the bay where telemetry data suggested that dolphins reside. Annual dolphin survival varied between 0.80 and 0.85 (95% CIs varied from 0.77 to 0.90) over 3 yr following the Deepwater Horizon spill. In 2 non-oiled bays (in Florida and South Carolina), historic survival averages approximately 0.95. From June to November 2010, abundance increased from 1300 (95% CI ± ~130) to 3100 (95% CI ± ~400), then declined and remained between ~1600 and ~2400 individuals until spring 2013. In fall 2013 and spring 2014, abundance increased again to approximately 3100 individuals. Dolphin abundance prior to the spill was unknown, but we hypothesize that some dolphins moved out of the sampled area, probably northward into marshes, prior to initiation of our surveys in late June 2010, and later immigrated back into the sampled area.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival, density, and abundance of common bottlenose dolphins in Barataria Bay (USA) following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

McDonald¹,

Hornsby²,

Speakman³

et al. 2017

Endang. Species. Res.

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“…Beginning in early 2010 a cetacean unusual mortality event (UME) occurred in the northern GoM involving primarily bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus, with >1100 cetaceans stranded during this period (Litz et al 2014, NOAA Fisheries OPR 2016. Since morbillivirus infection was a common cause of previous dolphin die-offs along the US coast, it was investigated as a potential cause of the northern GoM UME (Litz et al 2014, Venn-Watson et al 2015.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since morbillivirus infection was a common cause of previous dolphin die-offs along the US coast, it was investigated as a potential cause of the northern GoM UME (Litz et al 2014, Venn-Watson et al 2015. During previous morbillivirus-associated dolphin die-offs in the USA, the presence of virus detected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays had positive detection rates of 61 and 97% in dolphins tested during the 1987the −1988the and 2013the midAtlantic and 1993the −1994 GoM mortality events (Krafft et al 1995, Schulman et al 1997, Litz et al 2014. Previously reported morbillivirus seropositivity in free-ranging and stranded cetacean populations in the GoM during non-UME periods have ranged from 15 to 24%, depending upon the species and stock tested (Duignan et al 1996, Rowles et al 2011.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of morbillivirus exposure in cetaceans from the northern Gulf of Mexico 2010-2014

Fauquier

Litz

Sánchez³

et al. 2017

Endang. Species. Res.

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The potential role of morbillivirus was evaluated in the deaths of >1100 bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus and other small cetaceans that stranded from February 2010 through July 2014, during the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM) unusual mortality event (UME). Morbillivirus analysis was carried out on 142 live or freshly dead cetaceans and results were combined with samples from 102 live, free-ranging bottlenose dolphins sampled during capture-release health assessments conducted from 2011 to 2014. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for morbillivirus showed that 9.9% (14/142) of the stranded cetaceans and 1% (1/83) of the free-ranging live dolphins were positive for dolphin morbilliviral (DMV) RNA. In contrast, previous DMV dolphin die-offs had DMV detectable by PCR in 61 to 97% of animals tested. Histologic findings consistent with morbillivirus infection, including lymphoid depletion, bronchointerstitial pneumonia, syncytial cell formation, or meningoencephalitis, were found in 6.6% (9/136) of the cetaceans that underwent histologic examinations. Serological analysis using a virus neutralization assay found that 29% (5/17) of live stranded and 23% (23/102) of live free-ranging bottlenose dolphins had titers of 64 or greater for cetacean morbillivirus, indicating prior but not necessarily recent exposure to morbillivirus. Current findings suggest that DMV infection, although present in the northern GoM, was sporadic and occurred at low levels and therefore was not the primary cause of the northern GoM UME. Confirmation of DMV infections and existing DMV titers demonstrate continued exposure to morbillivirus among northern GoM cetaceans since the first detection of this virus in the early 1990s.

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“…From 2010 to 2014, the NOAA tracked a cetacean unusual mortality event (UME) in the nGoM (NOAA 2016). In reviewing the UME data, scientists identified several distinct clusters of strandings (Litz et al 2014, Venn-Watson et al 2015b): a cluster of deaths resulting from cold temperatures and low salinity in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana and western Mississippi Sound in early 2010; a large number of deaths in southern Louisiana (centered on Barataria Bay) from 2010 to 2011 and a cluster with unusually high numbers of perinates in Mississippi and Alabama in 2011, both of which were attributed to DWH oil (see below); and a Gulf-wide cluster in early 2013 (the authors did not opine on the cause of the 2013 cluster because of insufficient data; Venn-Watson et al 2015b).…”

Section: Characterizing Cetacean Injuries From Dwh Oil Spillmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill marine mammal injury assessment

Takeshita¹,

Sullivan²,

Smith³

et al. 2017

Endang. Species. Res.

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Review of historical unusual mortality events (UMEs) in the Gulf of Mexico (1990-2009): providing context for the multi-year northern Gulf of Mexico cetacean UME declared in 2010

Cited by 57 publications

References 31 publications

Survival, density, and abundance of common bottlenose dolphins in Barataria Bay (USA) following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Survival, density, and abundance of common bottlenose dolphins in Barataria Bay (USA) following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Evaluation of morbillivirus exposure in cetaceans from the northern Gulf of Mexico 2010-2014

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill marine mammal injury assessment

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