along the mid-Atlantic coast and to determine and monitor the 

 number of dead animals floating at sea and washed up on beaches 

 in selected index areas. Also, on 25-28 August and 30 August 

 -3 September, members of the response team were placed aboard 

 the Environmental Protection Agency's survey vessel, O.S.V. 

 Anderson , to look for dead and dying dolphins as the ship 

 conducted preplanned oceanographic surveys in and near the 

 area where the die-off appeared to be centered. At the same 

 time, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

 began synthesizing and comparing historic and recent data on 

 weather conditions, sea surface temperatures, current patterns, 

 and other variables to identify factors that could be correlated 

 with and contributing to the die-off. 



The number of dead animals on beaches in the New Jersey 

 and Virginia Beach areas began declining in early and late 

 August, respectively. At the same time, however, animals 

 began to appear on beaches to the south. By late November 

 1987, dead animals had been found on beaches as far south as 

 northern Florida, suggesting that whatever was killing the 

 animals was spreading or, alternatively, that animals were 

 continuing to die as they migrated south to their winter range. 



The results of the continuing investigations were reviewed 

 during the Commission's meeting in Miami, Florida, on 10-12 

 December 1987. During the review, it was reported that: 



in the early stages of the die-off, greater numbers of 

 larger (i.e. , older) animals may have been affected; in 

 later stages, animals of all age and sex classes appear 

 to have been affected, possibly in proportion to their 

 abundance in the population; 



animals examined have had a range of internal and external 

 lesions. Animals that came ashore in August and early 

 September commonly had small blisters and craters on the 

 skin — suggestive of a pox-like viral disease — particu- 

 larly around the lips and snout. Many also had large 

 areas of sloughing skin, fluid-filled body cavities, and 

 other evidence of severe systemic bacterial infections; 



gross post-mortem examinations suggested that some animals 

 died within a few hours after being invaded by bacteria, 

 while others had protracted illnesses which ended in 

 pneumonia, cerebral hemorrhage, vascular collapse, or 

 shock ; 



bacterial isolation studies done by the Department of 

 Agriculture's National Veterinary Services Laboratory in 

 Ames, Iowa, and by the Virginia Beach General Hospital 

 have documented the presence of bacteria from a wide 

 variety of genera including: Edwardsiella . Streptococcus , 



69 



