Dolphin samples leaving Mississippi

GULFPORT, Miss. - Federal officials are taking possession of samples from the 71 dolphins found dead on the Mississippi and Alabama coasts this year. The samples have been stored at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies since mid-January when the animals started dying in high numbers. The concern from the start has been whether it has anything to do with last year’s BP oil spill. (Source: Sun Herald, 03/24/11)

Much oil never got to surface

MOBILE, Ala. - Much of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010 never made it to the surface and instead become suspended in the water column, suggests research presented at a scientific conference in Mobile. One of the emerging themes among scientists was that many sea creatures appeared to be doing better than expected. The 40th annual Benthic Ecology Meeting attracted about 600 scientists from around the nation who study the creatures that live along the seafloor. The meeting was sponsored by the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and the University of South Alabama. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 03/20/11)

Search for answers multi-faceted

GULFPORT, Miss. – The investigation into the infant dolphin deaths along the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama will be multi-faceted in the months to come and watched by dozens of agencies and hundreds of attorneys in litigation with BP. But why the young mammals died and continue to die prematurely, weeks before the birthing season in the northern Gulf, may remain forever a mystery. (Source: Sun Herald, 03/05/11)

Cold may have killed dolphins

MOBILE, Ala. - Cold water may have killed dolphins washing ashore in Mississippi and Alabama, according to scientists with the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. They point to an apparent correlation between large pulses of chilly water that flowed into Mobile Bay during January and February and the subsequent discovery of dozens of stillborn dolphin calves in area waters. So far, 46 dolphins, mostly calves, have been found. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 03/03/11)

NGI conference set

The Northern Gulf Institute's annual conference will be held May 17-19 in Mobile, Ala., at the Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel. The conference will include updates on the activities and direction of the institute, but the emphasis of the conference will be on research presentations and poster presentations by the NGI project teams. NGI, based at Stennis Space Center, Miss., is a NOAA cooperative institute that includes Mississippi State University, Florida State University, University of Southern Mississippi, Louisiana State University and Dauphin Island Sea Lab. (Source: NGI, 03/02/11)