The 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill exposed common bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus ) in Barataria Bay, Louisiana to heavy oiling that caused increased mortality and chronic disease and impaired reproduction in surviving dolphins. We conducted photographic surveys and veterinary assessments in the decade following the spill. We assigned a prognostic score (good, fair, guarded, poor, or grave) for each dolphin to...

There is increasing concern over anthropogenically driven changes in our oceans and seas, from a variety of stressors. Such stressors include the increased risk of storms and precipitation, offshore industries and increased coastal development which can affect the marine environment. For some coastal cetacean species, there is an increased exposure to low salinity waters which have been linked with a range of adverse health ef...

Research has shown that noise disturbance can disrupt the behavior of harbor porpoises. The significance of such disturbance is unclear. However, these animals may be vulnerable to starvation when disturbed due to their high energy requirements. Important parameters determining harbor porpoise energy balance are the size and energy content of prey, their foraging behavior and their energetic requirements for homeostasis, growt...