Lobomycosis in offshore bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), North Carolina.

Lacazia loboi, a cutaneous fungus, is found in humans and dolphins from transitional tropical (Florida) and tropical (South America) regions. We report 2 cases of lobomycosis in stranded bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and 1 case of lobomycosis-like disease in 1 free-swimming, pelagic, offshore bottlenose dolphin from North Carolina, where no cases have previously been observed.

The use of geographic information systems as a forensic tool to investigate sources of marine mammal entanglement in fisheries.

Commercial fisheries represent a significant anthropogenic threat to marine mammal survival. Causes of marine mammal mortality are commonly determined by detailed necropsies of stranded carcasses. Gross evidence of entanglement in a fishery might include gear attached to the body, internal indications of asphyxiation and trauma, or gear markings on the epidermis. As gear is often fishery-specific, wound patterns on the epidermis that are created by entanglements in fishing gear may serve to identify possible sources of mortality. For this study, tools within the Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) ArcMap GIS software were used to create maps that outline impressions that fishing gear can leave on the epidermis of entangled marine mammals. These maps can subsequently be used to identify possible sources of fishery entanglement for the many marine mammals that wash ashore without gear attached to their carcass. Entanglement wound patterns can be visually compared with fishing gear characteristics; however, differences in scale and image quality can introduce subjectivity that might hinder source identification. The technique described herein provides an objective way to outline the unique characteristics of fishing gear and their associated wounds on entangled marine mammals. Additionally, spatial relationships are preserved as the maps are adjusted to varying scales. Whereas the initial protocol required time-consuming digitization of the outline and visual determination of the pattern interface, this new, semiautomated technique saves analyst effort and minimizes error.

Enterolith with a stingray spine nidus in an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).

In March 2006, a dead, male bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) was found in the salt marsh in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. During necropsy, an enterolith was found completely obstructing the intestinal lumen. Further examination of the enterolith revealed a stingray spine nidus. Most terrestrial enteroliths are composed primarily of struvite (magnesium ammonium phosphate); however, the majority of the enterolith discovered in the stranded dolphin was composed of calcium phosphate carbonate. This case provides an interesting comparison of the variation in the mineral composition between terrestrial and marine enteroliths.