Climate change can cause dolphin skin disease

a Sausalito Marine Mammal Center An international team led by Dolphin has identified the cause of a new skin disease in dolphins Phys.org. The disturbance could be due to climate change. This is the first time since the appearance of the skin disease in 2005 that a root cause has been identified.

Due to climate change, the salinity of the world’s seas is gradually decreasing, which could cause severe changes in coastal dolphins, affecting up to 70 percent of the skin surface. Fresh a study First to provide a case definition of freshwater skin disease in bottlenose dolphins.

The team has investigated epidemics in recent years in the waters of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Texas and Australia. A common factor was the sharp and sudden decrease in salinity in the affected coastal areas. This is due to extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, which can provide large amounts of rain near the shores. Based on previous studies, similar events are becoming more common due to climate change.

Team leader Pádraig J. Duignan said dolphins have died of disease since Hurricane Katrina, and now the cause of the problem has finally been identified. The expert added that based on the unprecedented hurricane season, more animals are suspected of contracting the disease in the near future. It is not yet known how the disorder will affect animals in the long term, however, the researchers are confident that their recent findings could contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the problem.