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Over 200 dead dolphins found in Peru.

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treesparrow:

--- Quote ---Over 200 dolphins dead in northern Peru

This week more than 200 dolphins were found dead along a 106-kilometer stretch at the beaches of Lambayeque.

Authorities have not yet been able to determine the cause of the deaths.

According to El Comercio, Edward Barriga, head of Peru’s Ocean Institute (Imarpe) in Lambayeque, ordered samples be sent to Lima, for further analysis.

“Soon we will announce the root causes," Barriga said.

Barriga said he had also found considerable quantities of dead anchovies on the beaches between the district of San jose and Palo Parado, in Morrope.

Jorge Torres Cabrejos, head of the Lambayeque’s Association of Maritime Growers, said the dolphins might have eaten the dead anchovies, who had died from decomposing plankton, caused by heavy pollution.

According to El Comercio, Torres denied that local fisherman were to blame for the dolphins’ deaths.

Last month Imarpe investigated the death of several dolphins and sea lions in the beaches of Piura.

Local media said the deaths could have been the result of oil spills in the area.


--- End quote ---

http://www.peruthisweek.com/news-1531-Over-200-dolphins-dead-in-northern-Peru/

This incident occurred in roughly the same time period that over 100 dead or dying dolphins were found at Cape Cod (on another ocean shore in a different hemisphere). Just what the hell is going on!? :huh: :(

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/06/10331137-cape-cod-dolphin-beachings-rise-to-129-more-expected

Laura:

I suspect outgassing of some sort: methane or some other poisonous gas, which would mean the earth's crust is opening and shifting even more.  Could also be underwater volcanic eruptions with associate gas venting and heating.  All that would mean more evaporation then precipitation either in the form of floods or heavy snow, depending on where it goes.

Regulattor:
More dead dolphins, this time from Southern Adriatic.

http://www.croatiantimes.com/news/General_News/2012-02-06/24897/Series_of_dolphin_deaths_puzzles_experts

Although it may be cold related, last two weeks the weather there is going nuts! There are even reports of dead fish being wash ashore more to the North on the beaches of Pag island and they say it's because of cold water and strong winds.

treesparrow:
I wonder if the following report of a mass death of beached seabirds has the same cause as the dolphin deaths? In the accompanying video clip an expert claims that this normal for migrating species. The trouble with this attempt at an explanation is that it's too early for Spring migration and the numbers observed do seem a bit exceptional. I tend to believe the eye witness account of the long term residence - that this many deaths is not usual from his experience. Also telling was the fact that large amounts of feathers had also washed up on the beach, indicating even more deaths far out to sea, out of sight.

 Note also man-made pollution was not thought be implicated in the die off.


--- Quote ---Why are there beached birds on our coast?


ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. -- Gary Anderson has made a career out of studying the shoreline. The coastal geologist turned Jacksonville Waterways commissioner has seen many changes along Florida's northeast coast, but he's never seen so many beached birds. 

"There were dead birds all over the place and what really gave me a clue was there were feathers there were thousands of thousands of feathers and that's unusual," said Anderson.

The commissioner found a total of 12 pelicans and gannets on Friday, and a friend found more than 40 just between Hannah Park and Ponte Vedra Beach.

Action news took those concerns to Florida Fish and Wildlife, who said the dead birds are nothing out of the ordinary.

"This occurs every year during migration time where some of these immature birds can't handle the stress of the long migration and some of them die on the way down basically," said Kevin Baxter, spokesperson for Fish and Wildlife.

But that wasn't enough for beach buff, Anderson.

"I'm a little skeptical because I spend a lot of time on this beach," said Anderson.

He says something stinks.

"One of the other witnesses smelled petroleum," said he said. "And on Friday the foam was brown, today it's white."

Fish and Wildlife also told Action News they studied two carcasses from our coast and they are sticking to their migration theory.

"There were no signs of any kind of contamination," said Baxter. "They conducted a necropsy which is a death examination of the birds and didn't find any evidence of that."

Fish and Wildlife promises, as they get more calls, they will continue to investigate. To report a dead or injured bird, visit myfwc.com/bird.


--- End quote ---

Video clip

http://www.actionnewsjax.com/content/topstories/story/Why-are-there-beached-birds-on-our-coast/oxsRceVgY0ulcQvYfvgTIA.cspx

Another unusual report -


--- Quote ---Beached whale first of its kind in New Zealand

The True's beaked whale (skeleton seen above) is one of the rarest whale species.
Wednesday Feb 8, 2012 (Laura Mills). A rare species of whale found washed up on a Haast beach is the first recorded in New Zealand.

A Haast resident found the True’s beaked whale carcass near the mouth of Waiatoto River in November.

It has only now been confirmed as the first of its kind in the country.

The skeleton, including a foetus, will now go to Te Papa in Wellington, where it will be available to scientists.

Department of Conservation West Coast marine specialist Don Neale spent the weekend extracting the bones after the 5m-long, 1.4 tonne carcass, which had been left to rot on the beach.

Not a lot is known about the species, but it has populations in the southern Indian Ocean and the north Atlantic.

“This one would be an extension of that southern Indian Ocean one. But is it a straggler, or do they quite often come here? We don’t know,” Mr Neale said.

“It’s incredible to think that we have a huge mammal like this in New Zealand that until now we didn’t even know lived here.”

Mr Neale said it might be the same whale that briefly stranded alive on the beach at nearby Jackson Bay the day before this one was found dead.

It was identified using genetic analysis at Auckland University, and there was no obvious reason why it died.

True’s beaked whales mostly feed on squid, but also eat fish, using in-built sonar to find their prey in the dark waters of the deep ocean. Before it died, it was probably feeding in the deep underwater canyons close to the South Westland coast.

The species is named after Frederick True, a curator at the Smithsonian in the United States. One of the rarest whales in the world, no population estimates are available.

Until now, True’s beaked whales were known only from about 20 carcasses and a handful of live sightings, in the southern Indian Ocean and the north Atlantic Ocean.


--- End quote ---

http://whalesandmarinefauna.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/beached-whale-first-of-its-kind-in-new-zealand/

edit - forgot to mention that the bird species involved, pelicans and gannets feed by catching fish underwater - which I think maybe relevant here.

Paa:
3,000 Dolphins Found Dead on the Coast of Peru

http://www.pej.org/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=9452&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

During the 3 last months. I wonder how many dead in total. Saddens me a lot.

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