Scientists are worried about the the rate at which bottlenose dolphins are washing up on Florida beaches, victims of mass die-offs that appear unrelated. The total count of dolphin corpses, which began in the Panhandle three years ago and stretched to the east coast recently at Indian River Lagoon, has now reached 1,000, reports Craig Pittman of the Tampa Bay Times.
Pittman also reports another troubling trendthat could be an early warning sign for humans: Manatees that manage to survive Red Tide are ending up with compromised immune systems.