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Summary

Description

On 15-16 Jan 2005, three offshore species of cetaceans (33 short-finned pilot whales, Globicephala macrorhynchus, one minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata, and two dwarf sperm whales, Kogia sima) stranded alive on the beaches of North Carolina. The pilot whales stranded near Oregon Inlet, the minke whale in northern North Carolina, and the dwarf sperm whales near Cape Hatteras. Live strandings of three species in one weekend was unique in North Carolina and qualified as an Unusual Mortality Event. Gross necropsies were conducted on 16-17 Jan 2005 on 27 pilot whales, two dwarf sperm whales, and the minke whale. Samples were collected for clinical pathology, parasitology, gross pathology, histopathology, microbiology and serology. There was variation in the number of animals sampled for each collection type, however, due to carcasses washing off the beach or degradation in carcass condition during the course of the response. Comprehensive histologic examination was conducted on 16 pilot whales, both dwarf sperm whales, and the minke whale. Limited organ or only head tissue suites were obtained from nine pilot whales. Histologic examination of tissues began in Feb 2005 and concluded in Dec 2005 when final sampling was concluded. In summary, the researchers did not find commonality in gross and histologic lesions that would indicate a single cause for this stranding event. Three pilot whales and one dwarf sperm whale had debilitating conditions identified that could have contributed to stranding, one pilot whale had a debilitating condition (subdural hemorrhage) that could have been present prior to or resulting from stranding. While the pilot and dwarf sperm whale strandings may have had a common cause, the minke whale stranding was probably just coincidental. On the basis of examination of physical evidence in the affected whales, however, the authors cannot definitively conclude that there was or was not a causal link between anthropogenic sonar activity or environmental conditions (or a combination of these factors) and the strandings. Overall, the cause of UMESE0501Sp in North Carolina is not and likely will not be definitively known.

Document Information

Document Type
Technical Memorandum (Tech Mem

Document Format
Acrobat Portable Document Format

Publication Date
2006-03-01

Distribution Information

  • PDF - Adobe Portable Document Format, 11.60 MB

    Title : Report on marine mammal unusual mortality event UMESE0501Sp : multispecies mass stranding of pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), and Dwarf sperm whales (Kogia sima) in North Carolina on 15-16 January 2005

    Personal Author(s) : Hohn, Aleta A. (Aleta Ann), 1954-;Rotstein, David R.;Harms, Craig A., 1957-;Southall, Brandon Lee;

    Corporate Authors(s) : Southeast Fisheries Science Center (U.S.)

    Published Date : 2006

    Series : NOAA technical memorandum NMFS-SEFSC ; 537

Controlled Theme Keywords

Balaenoptera acutorostrata, Globicephala macrorhynchus, Kogia sima

Contact Information

Distributor
NOAA Central Library
library.reference@noaa.gov
(301) 734-2607 ext. 157

Extents

Time Frame 1
2005-01-15 - 2005-01-16

Item Identification

Title: Multispecies Mass Stranding of Pilot Whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), and Dwarf Sperm Whales (Kogia sima) in North Carolina on 15-16 January 2005
Short Name: Report on Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Event UMESE0501Sp:
Status: Completed
Publication Date: 2006-03-01
Abstract:

On 15-16 Jan 2005, three offshore species of cetaceans (33 short-finned pilot whales, Globicephala macrorhynchus, one minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata, and two dwarf sperm whales, Kogia sima) stranded alive on the beaches of North Carolina. The pilot whales stranded near Oregon Inlet, the minke whale in northern North Carolina, and the dwarf sperm whales near Cape Hatteras. Live strandings of three species in one weekend was unique in North Carolina and qualified as an Unusual Mortality Event. Gross necropsies were conducted on 16-17 Jan 2005 on 27 pilot whales, two dwarf sperm whales, and the minke whale. Samples were collected for clinical pathology, parasitology, gross pathology, histopathology, microbiology and serology. There was variation in the number of animals sampled for each collection type, however, due to carcasses washing off the beach or degradation in carcass condition during the course of the response. Comprehensive histologic examination was conducted on 16 pilot whales, both dwarf sperm whales, and the minke whale. Limited organ or only head tissue suites were obtained from nine pilot whales. Histologic examination of tissues began in Feb 2005 and concluded in Dec 2005 when final sampling was concluded. In summary, the researchers did not find commonality in gross and histologic lesions that would indicate a single cause for this stranding event. Three pilot whales and one dwarf sperm whale had debilitating conditions identified that could have contributed to stranding, one pilot whale had a debilitating condition (subdural hemorrhage) that could have been present prior to or resulting from stranding. While the pilot and dwarf sperm whale strandings may have had a common cause, the minke whale stranding was probably just coincidental. On the basis of examination of physical evidence in the affected whales, however, the authors cannot definitively conclude that there was or was not a causal link between anthropogenic sonar activity or environmental conditions (or a combination of these factors) and the strandings. Overall, the cause of UMESE0501Sp in North Carolina is not and likely will not be definitively known.

Other Citation Details:

Hohn, Aleta A., David S. Rotstein, Craig A. Harms, and Brandon L. Southall. 2006. Report on Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Event UMESE0501Sp: Multispecies Mass Stranding of Pilot Whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), and Dwarf Sperm Whales (Kogia sima) in North Carolina on 15-16 January 2005.NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-537, 222 p. TM.

Keywords

Theme Keywords

Thesaurus Keyword
World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)
Balaenoptera acutorostrata View WoRMS Aphia Record
World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)
Globicephala macrorhynchus View WoRMS Aphia Record
World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)
Kogia sima View WoRMS Aphia Record
UNCONTROLLED
None dwarf sperm whales
None marine mammal
None minke whale
None pilot whale
None stranding
None UMESE0501Sp

Temporal Keywords

Thesaurus Keyword
UNCONTROLLED
None 2005

Spatial Keywords

Thesaurus Keyword
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords
OCEAN > ATLANTIC OCEAN > NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN
UNCONTROLLED
None Cape Hatteras
None oregon inlet

Document Information

Document Type: Technical Memorandum (Tech Mem
Format: Acrobat Portable Document Format
Status Code: Published

Support Roles

Author

CC ID: 210420
Date Effective From: 2006
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person): Hohn, Aleta
Address: 101 Pivers Island Road
Beaufort, NC 28156
Email Address: aleta.hohn@noaa.gov
Phone: 252-728-8797
Fax: 252-728-8784
URL: Aleta Hohn Google Scholar Page

Distributor

CC ID: 1176864
Date Effective From: 2006
Date Effective To:
Contact (Organization): NOAA Central Library
Address: 1315 East-West Highway SSMC3, 2nd Floor
Silver Spring, MD 20910
United States
Email Address: library.reference@noaa.gov
Phone: (301) 734-2607 ext. 157
URL: https://library.noaa.gov/
Business Hours: 8:00 AM 4:30 - PM

Extents

Currentness Reference: Ground Condition

Extent Group 1

Extent Group 1 / Time Frame 1

CC ID: 210826
Time Frame Type: Range
Start: 2005-01-15
End: 2005-01-16

Distribution Information

Distribution 1

CC ID: 1176863
Start Date: 2006
End Date: Present
Download URL: https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/3457
Distributor: NOAA Central Library (2006 - Present)
Description:

Title : Report on marine mammal unusual mortality event UMESE0501Sp : multispecies mass stranding of pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), and Dwarf sperm whales (Kogia sima) in North Carolina on 15-16 January 2005

Personal Author(s) : Hohn, Aleta A. (Aleta Ann), 1954-;Rotstein, David R.;Harms, Craig A., 1957-;Southall, Brandon Lee;

Corporate Authors(s) : Southeast Fisheries Science Center (U.S.)

Published Date : 2006

Series : NOAA technical memorandum NMFS-SEFSC ; 537

File Type (Deprecated): PDF
Distribution Format: PDF - Adobe Portable Document Format
File Size: 11.60 MB
Compression: Uncompressed
Review Status: Chked Viruses Inapp Content

Catalog Details

Catalog Item ID: 26137
GUID: gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:26137
Metadata Record Created By: Lee M Weinberger
Metadata Record Created: 2015-07-28 12:53+0000
Metadata Record Last Modified By: SysAdmin InPortAdmin
Metadata Record Last Modified: 2023-10-17 16:12+0000
Metadata Record Published: 2021-04-29
Owner Org: SEFSC
Metadata Publication Status: Published Externally
Do Not Publish?: N
Metadata Last Review Date: 2021-04-29
Metadata Review Frequency: 1 Year
Metadata Next Review Date: 2022-04-29