Good night? Satellite data uncovers dolphins on the move at nighttime

Date: June 2, 2020

Source: Florida Atlantic University

More than 1,000 bottlenose dolphins live in the Indian River Lagoon year-round. This estuarine system along the southeast coast of Florida is a narrow and convoluted ecosystem with interconnected bodies of water, a handful of ocean inlets, and numerous small rivers, creeks and canals that release freshwater into the lagoon. While this population of dolphins in the lagoon has been studied extensively, what they do at nighttime is still a mystery.

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in collaboration with Seven Degrees of Mapping LLC, and Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, are the first to use satellite telemetry on this dolphin population, providing unique insights into their behavioral ecology during the overnight hours. Detailed information about their nocturnal movements and habitat use will give scientists a more complete ecological understanding of this population. These dolphins face many direct and indirect threats including boat strikes, entanglements, and environmental contamination.

Results of the study, published in the journal Animal Biotelemetry, provide the first documentation of Indian River Lagoon dolphins regularly leaving the brackish waters of the estuarine system and, not only traveling into the ocean, but swimming substantial distances -- up to 20 kilometers -- up freshwater rivers, creeks, and canals. These journeys do not appear to be extended stays in freshwater, which can be detrimental to dolphin health, but instead involve many brief trips upriver. Findings reveal that they have a larger range that encompasses more habitats than previously thought.

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Florida: $20,000 reward offered after two dolphins found stabbed or shot dead

Officials say dolphins had what looked like bullet wounds

Dead mammals found in waters off Naples and Pensacola

Associated Press in St Petersburg

Tue 11 Feb 2020 22.32 GMTLast modified on Tue 11 Feb 2020 22.42 GMT

US federal authorities have offered a reward of up to $20,000 after two dolphins were found with gruesome and life-ending injuries along Florida’s Gulf coast in recent weeks.

According to the Florida fish and wildlife conservation commission and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, one dolphin was discovered dead in waters off Naples in south-west Florida late last week. Officials said the animal had received bullet, or stab wounds – or possibly both.

Also last week, the Emerald Coast wildlife refuge found a dolphin with a bullet in its left side along Pensacola Beach in the Florida Panhandle.

Experts believe the two deaths might have stemmed from humans feeding the animals. When dolphins learn to associate people and boats with food, they can expose themselves to dangerous situations.

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Toxic Cane toads that can kill your dog in minutes moving into Central Florida; how to protect your pets. - via Herp Digest

By: Christopher heath and Sarah Wilson 2/4/20 WFTV Orlando

All it takes is a quick lick or a sniff. Fifteen minutes later, your dog could be dead.

That’s how poisonous experts say an invasive species of toad that is moving into Central Florida is to our pets.

Cane toads are the largest toad in the world. They’ve hopped from their native Central and South America to South Florida, up the state to Central Florida.

The University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health uses an interactive map to track sightings of the toad. The map is dotted with sightings across Florida from Miami up the east coast to Brevard County, as far north as Jacksonville and as far west as the Panhandle.

Audrey Smith, with the Brevard Zoo, has worked with amphibians for the last two decades. She said as it’s easier for the toad to move north as the climate gets warmer.

“They are burrowers and they’ll dig a space in the ground and wait until the weather is warm again,” Smith said.

The toads were introduced in Florida to fight insects in the sugar industry. Instead they started eating native frogs, lizards and even small mammals. Basically, anything they can fit in their mouth.

Smith said the toads secrete a poisonous toxin from their skin that is toxic to humans and lethal for pets.

“It’s not something you’d want to get on your skin, or get in your mouth or any sort of mucus area like your eyes or nostrils, or anything like that,” she said.

Pets are even more at risk.

“The dog and the cat, they are a lot more susceptible to that bufo-toxin, from the bufo toad,” she said. “If it gets in their mouth or nose it could kill them.”

In some cases, she said it can be enough to kill them in just 15 minutes.

The state doesn’t track pet deaths related to the toads, only sightings.

If you spot one, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission officials said you can kill it – but humanely. They recommend using gloves to rub  benzocaine, like Orajel, on the toad’s belly and then put it in the freezer for 24 hours.

FWC offers the following tips to keep your pets safe from the deadly amphibians:

Mow and trim your yard: Keep grass short so you can spot the toads. Bring underside of shrubs off the ground to eliminate hiding places for the toads. 

Clean up: Messes attract pests. Outdoor food and water bowls for pets, brush piles and other clutter can attract toads and their prey, which in turn attracts toads. 

Watch out: Cane toads are nocturnal, so watch your pets while outside at night. Don’t allow your pets to nose around in bushes while on walks.