North Casey Key, Sarasota, Florida, United States, North America, North Atlantic Ocean
Collection Date:
13 Jul 1976
Notes:
504433-504460, SEAN 1144 Stenella longirostris SEAN 1123 Mesoplodon europaeus 423 cm female 14 VII 76 conversion of ticket to Sarasota $1,300 (apx) crushed ice $200.00 14-17 VII 76 dry ice ~$37.00 food ~$40.00 equipment air freight DCA-SRQ 2 shipments eyes to LAX Wednesday 14 July 1976 Was scheduled to go to Miami tonight to dissect Mesoplodon europaeus heads with Odell and Gureyvich. Received a call from Odell at ~10:00 that there was a mass stranding of small dolphins at Sarasota – reportedly about 150 animals. Packed bags and caught an EAL flight at ~ 11:00 from DCA to Sarasota (via Atlanta). Called Shirley from Atlanta and suggested making arrangements to collect animals at one place and get them iced down. Preferred site is Mote Marine Lab, which was already involved in the stranding. Arrived at Sarasota at ~ 14:30, met by Jeff Lincer of More, Randy Wells from the University of Florida, and Odell. Decided to dispatch Wells immediately to the scene of the stranding, while Odell and I went to Mote to get set up. Found 3 animals at Mote – live adult female and male, dead male – Stenella longirostris. Had asked Charlie Fuss to arrange for a plane, if possible, he turned up a USCG helicopter at 18:00 – Odell picked it up at the airport and spent about 2 hours flying the area. Saw essentially nothing but the dead animals on the beach, and an old, dead Tursiops. Contacted Geraci, Asper – local vet came over. Decided to dose the two live animals with flucortisin and azium at 18:00 hours. Possible transport to Sea World tomorrow. Live animal were not physically damaged, except for light abrasions on flukes – were being held in shallow water in penned off corner of one of the shark enclosures – supported on soft sand-mud bottom. Were lying quietly, but showing continuos muscle tremors – some sound production around blowhole – no whistling when I saw them. Drew about 10cc off blood from the fluke of the animal on the right (as you stood facing them on the ground – I think this was the male. No luck with the other one. Local vet to processthis (I did not get the values before I left). The male? defecated a small amount of bilious mucinous material while we were handling it. Wells hauled the dead animals in before dark, and we iced them down in the flume between the two large shark enclosures. Decided to do one animal that night to get a rough idea what we were up against, then to do the rest starting early in the morning – found nothing gross – few Nasitrema in pterygoid sinuses, with extensive inflammation – suggests brain involvement. Goldstein came down and we decided it would be best to move animals to Sea World ASAP. Called Asper, who said he would have a truck there at 06:30. Nick Hall is on his way from Gainesville with assorted assistants. Spent night at Jeff Lincer's. Thursday 15 July 1976 Up early and over to Mote- Asper showed up at 06;30 and picked up the two live animals. Gureyvich showed up a little later – I gave them another dose of flucortisin and azium before they left. Set up field gear and started processing animals. Nick Hall took weights, total lengths and cut off the heads for brains while we worked on carcasses. Everything went very smoothly – broke for a news conference at 11:00. One additional animal picked off the beach today – plus a report of a live calf in waterway at ~ 21:30. Wells wwent out and picked it up – a 92 cm, 7.2 kg male, with a sore umbical scar – alive, but scratched up – dosed it with 1cc flucortisin, then decided to transport it to Sea World – Wells took off with it about 02:00 – died enroute. General autopsy results – all stomachs empty – all adult males with copius sperm in epididymus – no females pregnant or lactating (the female which went alive to Sea World turned out to be lactating) – 3 calfs – 1 picked up and frozen before we got here, the live one, and one which somebody else had picked up and frozen on ?15 VII. Crassicaudid examination was pretty variable – in some animals where I really looked close, I found them in superficial fascia – emaciated condition plus drying of skin made this difficult. Found worms in several of the mammaries – all of the mammaries looked abnormal (thin, slightly fibrotic, dark purple-brown), most had a dark, cloudy exudate in them. I suspect all were infected with crassicaudids, though we were unable to confirm this – found a very few Monorhygma cysts, all in the posterior recess of the abdomen, around the rectum. Blubber very thin – 2-4 mm – partly due to drying, but most to emaciation – very little fat in cervical superficial fascia – no appreciable muscle wastage. No Phylobothrium cysts seen – all bladders empty. I did reproductive system, initial incision and mammaries – Odell went through the guts. Had one animal with shark damage, which appeared to be postmortem (no hemorhage or edema – wound on flank and flukes – would not have been immediately fatal. Took eyes today and iced them, sent one batch off to Debbie – will send another shipment from Miami. Odell took frozen blubber, muscle, liver. Have histopath only on one animal, gonads on all, uterine epithelium on several – screwed up, only got a couple of mammaries. Finished necropsies at ~ 23:30 – fooled around with the live pup until ~ 02;00.
Record Last Modified:
16 Sep 2024
Specimen Count:
1
Taxonomy:
Animalia, Chordata, Vertebrata, Mammalia, Eutheria, Cetacea, Odontoceti, Delphinidae