Evaluation of Morbillivirus Exposure to Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Abstract

Deepwater Horizon (DWH) was the largest offshore oil spill in the petroleum industry’s history. For a total of 87 days, approximately 3.19 million gallons of oil and natural gas seeped into the Gulf of Mexico. DWH altered the ecology and biology of the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding areas, including many species of endangered marine life and habitat quality. Following the oil spill in April 2010, an unusual mortality event occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in cetaceans, primarily bottlenose dolphins. Dolphin morbillivirus (DMV) was investigated to cause this event. DMV is a well-recognized paramyxovirus that causes dolphin deaths in the United States from acute viral pneumonia, viral encephalitis, or from fungal or bacterial infections from immunosuppression. Therefore, we aim to determine how the event of oil spills affects the exposure of bottlenose dolphins to morbillivirus. We will conduct thorough literature reviews to obtain the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and serological analysis data for different age categories in order to develop a model to determine morbillivirus exposure in bottlenose dolphins. We will then use the model to quantify the effects of DWH on the morbillivirus exposure to bottlenose dolphins’ population dynamics for the future 30 years.