Skin lesions on common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from three sites in the Northwest Atlantic, USA

• Published in: PLoS ONE
• Main Authors: Hart, Leslie Burdett, Rotstein, Dave S., Wells, Randall S., Allen, Jason, Barleycorn, Aaron, Balmer, Brian C., Lane , Suzanne M., Speakman, Todd, Zolman, Eric S., Stolen, Megan, McFee, Wayne E., Goldstein, Tracey, Rowles, Teri K., Schwacke, Lori H.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: Fisheries; Health; Management; Pollution; Northwest Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1834/30572; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0033081

Skin disease occurs frequently in many cetacean species across the globe; methods to categorize lesions have relied on photo-identification (photo-id), stranding, and bycatch data. The current study used photo-id data from four sampling months during 2009 to estimate skin lesion prevalence and type occurring on bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from three sites along the southeast United States coast [Sarasota Bay, FL (SSB); near Brunswick and Sapelo Island, GA (BSG); and near Charleston, SC (CHS)]. The prevalence of lesions was highest among BSG dolphins (P=0.587) and lowest in SSB (P=0.380), and the overall prevalence was significantly different among all sites (p<0.0167). Logistic regression modeling revealed a significant reduction in the odds of lesion occurrence for increasing water temperatures (OR=0.92; 95%CI:0.906-0.938) and a significantly increased odds of lesion occurrence for BSG dolphins (OR=1.39; 95%CI:1.203-1.614). Approximately one-third of the lesioned dolphins from each site presented with multiple types, and population differences in lesion type occurrence were observed (p<0.05). Lesions on stranded dolphins were sampled to determine the etiology of different lesion types, which included three visually distinct samples positive for herpesvirus. Although generally considered non-fatal, skin disease may be indicative of animal health or exposure to anthropogenic or environmental threats, and photo-id data provide an efficient and cost-effective approach to document the occurrence of skin lesions in free-ranging populations.