Cardiac assessments of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Northern Gulf of Mexico following exposure to Deepwater Horizon oil

PLoS One. 2021 Dec 14;16(12):e0261112. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261112. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill profoundly impacted the health of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Barataria Bay, LA (BB). To comprehensively assess the cardiac health of dolphins living within the DWH oil spill footprint, techniques for in-water cardiac evaluation were refined with dolphins cared for by the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program in 2018 and applied to free-ranging bottlenose dolphins in BB (n = 34) and Sarasota Bay, Florida (SB) (n = 19), a non-oiled reference population. Cardiac auscultation detected systolic murmurs in the majority of dolphins from both sites (88% BB, 89% SB) and echocardiography showed most of the murmurs were innocent flow murmurs attributed to elevated blood flow velocity [1]. Telemetric six-lead electrocardiography detected arrhythmias in BB dolphins (43%) and SB dolphins (31%), all of which were considered low to moderate risk for adverse cardiac events. Echocardiography showed BB dolphins had thinner left ventricular walls, with significant differences in intraventricular septum thickness at the end of diastole (p = 0.002), and left ventricular posterior wall thickness at the end of diastole (p = 0.033). BB dolphins also had smaller left atrial size (p = 0.004), higher prevalence of tricuspid valve prolapse (p = 0.003), higher prevalence of tricuspid valve thickening (p = 0.033), and higher prevalence of aortic valve thickening (p = 0.008). Two dolphins in BB were diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension based on Doppler echocardiography-derived estimates and supporting echocardiographic findings. Histopathology of dolphins who stranded within the DWH oil spill footprint showed a significantly higher prevalence of myocardial fibrosis (p = 0.003), regardless of age, compared to dolphins outside the oil spill footprint. In conclusion, there were substantial cardiac abnormalities identified in BB dolphins which may be related to DWH oil exposure, however, future work is needed to rule out other hypotheses and further elucidate the connection between oil exposure, pulmonary disease, and the observed cardiac abnormalities.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bottle-Nosed Dolphin* / abnormalities
  • Bottle-Nosed Dolphin* / physiology
  • Echocardiography / veterinary
  • Electrocardiography / veterinary
  • Fibrosis / diagnostic imaging
  • Fibrosis / veterinary
  • Heart / diagnostic imaging
  • Heart / physiology
  • Heart Injuries / diagnostic imaging
  • Heart Injuries / veterinary*
  • Hypertension / veterinary
  • Petroleum Pollution / adverse effects*

Grants and funding

This research was made possible by a grant from The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (Award # SA 18-12). https://gulfresearchinitiative.org/ The Alabama Marine Mammal Stranding Network was funded in part through the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund (#45720), Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Alabama Emergency Management Agency. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.