Marine scientists are debating whether the over 80 bottlenose dolphins found dead along the U.S. Gulf Coast since January have been due to affects from last year's massive oil spill or a winter cold snap. Regardless, upwards near 100 dead dolphins in the Gulf is indicative of something wrong.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared "an unusual mortality event" last week when the number of dead dolphins washing up in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida had reached nearly 60, What's more disconcerting is that about half of these were newly born or stillborn calves. The death toll along 200 miles of shoreline has climbed to at least 82 since then, many times the normal mortality rate for dolphins along the Gulf Coast this time of year. Although none so far showed outward signs of oil contamination, suspicions immediately turned to the various toxic petrochemicals that fouled Gulf waters after a BP drilling platform exploded last April, rupturing a wellhead on the sea floor. An estimated 5 million barrels (206 million gallons) of crude oil spewed into the Gulf over more than three months (but then, people are still arguing over that) and scientists in the Gulf already were in the midst of investigating last year's discovery of nearly 90 dead dolphins, when officials became alarmed at this surge in dead baby dolphins.
The latest spike in deaths, and a high concentration of premature infants among them, has led some experts to speculate that oil ingested or inhaled by dolphins at the time of the spill has taken a toll on the marine mammals, possibly leading to dolphin miscarriages and this die-off has come at the start of the first dolphin calving season in the Gulf since the BP blowout.
But then, scientists at the independent Dolphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama suggested on Thursday that "unusually chilly water temperatures in the Gulf may be a key factor." Right. It just got a bit chilly and over 80 dolphins miscarried in January. Yeah, I'm going with the petrochemicals.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared "an unusual mortality event" last week when the number of dead dolphins washing up in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida had reached nearly 60, What's more disconcerting is that about half of these were newly born or stillborn calves. The death toll along 200 miles of shoreline has climbed to at least 82 since then, many times the normal mortality rate for dolphins along the Gulf Coast this time of year. Although none so far showed outward signs of oil contamination, suspicions immediately turned to the various toxic petrochemicals that fouled Gulf waters after a BP drilling platform exploded last April, rupturing a wellhead on the sea floor. An estimated 5 million barrels (206 million gallons) of crude oil spewed into the Gulf over more than three months (but then, people are still arguing over that) and scientists in the Gulf already were in the midst of investigating last year's discovery of nearly 90 dead dolphins, when officials became alarmed at this surge in dead baby dolphins.
The latest spike in deaths, and a high concentration of premature infants among them, has led some experts to speculate that oil ingested or inhaled by dolphins at the time of the spill has taken a toll on the marine mammals, possibly leading to dolphin miscarriages and this die-off has come at the start of the first dolphin calving season in the Gulf since the BP blowout.
But then, scientists at the independent Dolphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama suggested on Thursday that "unusually chilly water temperatures in the Gulf may be a key factor." Right. It just got a bit chilly and over 80 dolphins miscarried in January. Yeah, I'm going with the petrochemicals.
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