Total bottlenose dolphin strandings by state (1 January – 30 April 2011).

<p>LA  =  Louisiana, MS  =  Mississippi, AL  =  Alabama, FL  =  Florida. NMFS independently validated Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program data up to 2008, and data from February 2010 through August 2011 have been audited by NMFS. Data are subject to change prior to NMFS validation.</p

Dolphin strandings compared to water temperature through time.

<p>Total biweekly bottlenose dolphin strandings reported in Louisiana (LA), Mississippi (MS), Alabama (AL), and Florida (FL) from January 2003 through April 2011 <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0041155#pone.0041155-NOAA2" target="_blank">[12]</a> compared to biweekly mean surface water temperature at Mobile Bay, AL. Potential stressors: I  =  Winter 2010, II  =  DWHOS in the nGOM, III  =  spring freshet.</p

Gulf of Mexico coastal SST in 2011.

<p><b>A</b>) Weekly mean sea surface temperature (SST) for near shore areas in the nGOM from 1 January - 30 April 2011. The dashed line is the high-frequency temperature data from Mobile Bay (DPHA1 buoy) shown in Fig. 3A. <b>B</b>) 1° longitude×2° latitude grid boxes in which NOAA Weekly Global Sea Surface Temperature SST Model Outputs from OIV2 Optimum Interpolation Analysis (<a href="http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/GIS/GIS_DATA/sst_oiv2/index.php" target="_blank">http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/GIS/GIS_DATA/sst_oiv2/index.php</a>) were averaged. Inset dots in <b>B</b> indicate sites from which high-frequency local water flow (1) and surface water temperature and salinity (2) data were collected at Mobile Bay, AL. Site 2 is the DPHA1 buoy.</p

Comparison of peak dolphin strandings to peak water flow and temperature declines during January – March 2011.

<p>AL  =  sites near Mobile Bay, Alabama during January – March 2011 and correspond to data in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0041155#pone-0041155-g003" target="_blank">Fig. 3A</a>. GOM  =  Gulf-wide (<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0041155#pone-0041155-g005" target="_blank">Fig. 5</a>) for the same period.</p

Dolphin strandings in 2011.

<p><b>A</b>) Total weekly bottlenose dolphin strandings for each state compared to surface water temperature (30 min intervals), flow (15 min intervals), and salinity (30 min intervals) measured at Mobile Bay, AL. <b>B</b>) Weekly perinatal dolphin strandings, separated by state (following the same legend as panel A). <b>C</b>) Total weekly bottlenose dolphin strandings, separated by carcass condition on the day of response in 2011. Carcass condition is reported using NMFS standard 5-point code in which 1 is live stranded, 2 is freshly dead, and 5 is most highly decomposed. NR  =  Not reported.</p