Fire Spencer E, Miller Glenn A, Wells Randall S
Chicago Zoological Society's Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, c/o Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL, 34236, USA.
Department of Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 W. University Blvd., Melbourne, FL, 32901, USA.
Heliyon. 2020 Mar 6;6(3):e03525. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03525. eCollection 2020 Mar.
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) such as those produced by have acute negative impacts on common bottlenose dolphins () in Florida coastal waters, frequently causing illness and death. However, much less is known about chronic, sub-acute effects on these important sentinel species. This study investigates whether bottlenose dolphin behavior in Sarasota Bay, Florida is influenced by the presence of severe red tide events, focusing on respiratory and other behaviors likely affected by abundant toxin aerosols produced during these blooms. Through focal animal behavioral follows, we observed free-ranging dolphin respiratory behavior, activity budgets, and movement patterns relative to abundance in the study area. We compared behavior from dolphins observed during a 2005 bloom to those observed during inter-bloom conditions where was present at background concentrations. We found that the rate of "chuffing", an explosive type of exhalation, was significantly greater in dolphins observed during the bloom. No apparent effect on respiratory rate, heading change rate or activity budgets was observed. We propose that this chuffing behavior is analogous to symptoms of respiratory irritation observed in humans exposed to such red tide events, and suggest that this may be a type of disturbance response. With an observed increase in both the frequency and severity of HABs, such disturbance responses may have large-scale chronic impacts to the health and fitness of bottlenose dolphins in regions where such HABs are common.
有害藻华（HABs），比如由[具体藻类名称未给出]产生的藻华，对佛罗里达沿海水域的宽吻海豚（Tursiops truncatus）具有急性负面影响，经常导致疾病和死亡。然而，对于这些重要的指示物种的慢性、亚急性影响，我们了解得要少得多。本研究调查了佛罗里达州萨拉索塔湾宽吻海豚的行为是否受到严重赤潮事件的影响，重点关注呼吸行为以及其他可能受这些藻华期间产生的大量毒素气溶胶影响的行为。通过对目标动物行为的跟踪，我们观察了自由活动海豚的呼吸行为、活动预算以及相对于研究区域内[具体藻类名称未给出]丰度的运动模式。我们将2005年赤潮期间观察到的海豚行为与在藻华间期（此时[具体藻类名称未给出]以背景浓度存在）观察到的海豚行为进行了比较。我们发现，在赤潮期间观察到的海豚中，“喷气”（一种爆发性呼气类型）的频率显著更高。未观察到对呼吸频率、航向变化率或活动预算有明显影响。我们认为这种喷气行为类似于在接触此类赤潮事件的人类中观察到的呼吸道刺激症状，并表明这可能是一种干扰反应。随着观察到有害藻华的频率和严重程度都在增加，这种干扰反应可能会对有害藻华常见地区的宽吻海豚的健康和适应性产生大规模的慢性影响。
