SECTION rx 



Summaiy of Available Pathology Reports 



Staff 



Southeast Fisheries Science Center 



Miami Laboratory 



75 Virginia Beach Drive 



Miami, FL 33149 



ainical necropsy reports were available for 13 of the 367 bottlenose dolphin 

 strandings that were investigated during the 1990 Gulf of Mexico stranding event. This was 

 due, in large part, to the state of decomposition of the stranded animals; only 32 (about 9%) 

 of the stranded animals were in a condition suitable for a clinical necropsy. Another 

 contributing factor to the paucity of clinical necropsies was the limited availability of 

 personnel skilled in post-mortem examination of dolphins. Of the 13 clinical necropsy 

 reports, four are brief pathological summaries and nine are lengthy reports. The reports are 

 appended in Appendix VIII. 



General necropsies were performed on all of the 13 bottlenose dolphins. 

 Histopathological analyses were done for five animals (samples were collected for two other 

 animals, but were not examined), microbiological analyses for six and hematological analysis 

 for one. 



The following direct causes of death were indicated: possible mastitis (1), a fisheries 

 interaction mortality (1), bacterial pneumonia (gram-negative) (4) and septicemia (3) (three 

 with lung congestion and edema which were thought to be agonal), and severe pancreatic 

 fibrosis and nodular pneumonia with peripheral skin abscesses (1). In three animals the 

 cause of death was not indicated, but was thought in one animal to be related to the fact 

 that the most significant lesions were pulmonary animal; another was severely emaciated. 

 There was moderate to severe post-mortem autolysis (PMA), preventing microscopic 

 examination and determination of cause of death in three animals. Of these three, one was 

 indicated as a possible calving associated mortality and another as pulmonary edema as 

 cause of death or possibly drowning. 



Skin lesions (moderate to severe) were observed in nine animals; one was non- 

 specific, five were listed as punctate, one as an ulceration, two were caused by septicemia, 



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