Sewage May Be Killing Manatees, Dolphins

After 112 manatees, 52 dolphins and 300 pelicans died in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon, researchers began looking for answers. One found a concoction of toxins on seaweed eaten by the dead manatees, but that didn’t explain why the dolphins and pelicans, which eat fish, are dying as well.  As the Tampa Bay Times reports, scientists believe sewage leaks in the estimated 300,000 septic tanks scattered around the lagoon or deep-well injection of treated sewage into the aquifer could be the source of the mysterious toxins.