Dear Colleagues, On behalf of my co-authors, I am pleased to announce that the following article is now available online https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mms.12670: Toms, C. N., Stone, T., and Och-Adams, T. (2020). Visual-only assessments of skin lesions on free-ranging common bottlenose dolphins (*Tursiops truncatus*); Reliability and utility of quantitative tools. *Marine Mammal Science, *1-30. DOI: 10.1111/mms.12670. ABSTRACT Photo analysis offers a simple, non-invasive approach to characterizing and quantifying skin lesions in cetaceans; however, this process involves methodological considerations that have often gone unaddressed or have varied in approach among investigators. Subjectivity associated with classifying skin lesion types of unknown etiology and quantifying measures of skin lesion prevalence and extent from photo data raises questions about observer bias and agreement (i.e., interrater reliability), which are often ignored. The purpose of the present study was to improve upon data quality control and assessment practices when studying skin lesions using only photo data. Specifically, we tested interrater reliability of a skin lesion classification system, compared methods of quantifying skin lesion extent, and determined the validity of the dorsal fin as a proxy for skin lesions on the entire body. Acceptable levels of interrater reliability were achieved for only 7 of 17 defined lesion types but reliability was high for the two tested measures of lesion extent. Skin lesion extent measured from the dorsal fin alone was not a decent proxy for the whole visible surface; disparities between measures were as high as 43%. We discuss the potential pitfalls discovered and provide recommendations for others attempting similar approaches. Please, do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions Cheers, Christina Toms PhD, Postdoctoral Scientist Sarasota Dolphin Research Program Chicago Zoological Society Office: 941-388-4441 ext. 375 Cell: 808-990-1931 ctoms@mote.org https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christina_Toms