16th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals Workshop Announcement: Health Assessment of Bottlenose Dolphins in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida and Charleston, South Carolina Chairs: Drs. Gregory D. Bossart and Patricia A. Fair Symposium Coordinator: Dr. Juli D. Goldstein E-mail: jgoldstein@hboi.edu Day/Date: Sunday December 11 Time: 9:00-5:00pm Location: Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego: Conference room TBD. Cost: Free to all conference registrants Summary: The Bottlenose Dolphin Health and Risk Assessment (HERA) Project was initiated in 2003 by researchers at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Ocean Service. The HERA Dolphin Project is a comprehensive, integrated, multi-disciplinary research program designed to assess overall dolphin health and environmental and anthropogenic stressors that may affect health and long-term viability. Standardized and comprehensive protocols are being used to understand dolphin health, the top-predator of coastal ecosystems in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), FL and Charleston (CHS), SC. This study is focusing on developing tools and techniques to better assess the health of bottlenose dolphins and to identify health threats and develop linkages to possible environmental stressors. This symposium will highlight studies by multiple HERA investigators who will report on their findings from a wide range of disciplines such as emerging disease, pathology, biomarkers, contaminants, and immunology. Tentative Agenda and List of Speakers 9:00-9:10 am Welcome/Introductions Dr. Gregory D. Bossart, Dr. Patricia A. Fair, Dr. Juli D. Goldstein 9:10-9:25 am Overview of Dolphin Health Assessments Dr. Teri Rowles, National Marine Fisheries 9:25-9:40 am Overview, Goal, and Objectives of HERA Dolphin Project Dr. Patricia Fair and Dr. Gregory D. Bossart, National Ocean Service, Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research, Charleston, SC/Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution 9:40-9:55 am Integrating Bottlenose Dolphin Health and Photo-Identification Data Jeffrey D. Adams, National Ocean Service, Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research, Charleston, SC 9:55-10:10 am Spatial Aspects of Bottlenose Dolphin Occurrence Near Charleston, SC and in the Indian River Lagoon, FL Dr. R.H Defran, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution & National Ocean Service, Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research, Charleston, SC 10:10-10:25 am Hematologic, Serum Biochemistry and Cytologic Findings From Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin Inhabiting the Indian River Lagoon, Florida Dr. Juli D. Goldstein, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution 10:25-10:40 am Evaluation of a portable clinical analyzer of the critical care blood gases and electrolytes in Atlantic bottlenose dolphins Dr. Rene A Varela, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution 10:40-10:55 am COFFEE BREAK 10:55-11:10 am Lobomycosis in Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) From the Indian River Lagoon, Florida 11:10-11:25 am New Viral Findings and the Development of Seroepidemiological Screening Tests and the Corresponding Vaccines Dr. Manuela Rehtanz and Dr. Gregory D. Bossart, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Brown Cancer Center 11:25-11:40 am Antibiotic Resistant Escherichia coli Found in Florida and South Carolina Wild Bottlenose Dolphins Barbara Lyon, National Ocean Service, Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research, Charleston, SC 11:40-11:55 pm Orogenital Neoplasia in Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) Dr. Gregory D. Bossart, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution 11:55-1:00 pm LUNCH BREAK 1:00-1:15 pm Feeding Habits of Indian River Lagoon bottlenose dolphins assessed using stable isotope and fatty acid signature analysis Dr. Graham Worthy, Department of Biology, University of Central Florida 1:15-1:30 pm Emerging contaminants in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the Charleston Harbor, SC and the Indian River Lagoon, Fl Magali Houde, Environmental Biology University of Guelph/National Water Research Institute, Burlington, Ontario 1:30-1:45 pm Comparisons of trace metal contamination in bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) populations along the southeast Atlantic coast Hui-Chen Wang, National Ocean Service, Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research, Charleston, SC 1:45-2:00 pm Changes in Gene Expression in the Skin-Blubber Biopsy as Measures of Chemical Exposure and Effect in the Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus Eric Montie, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 2:00-2:15 pm Establishment of Epidermal Cell Lines Derived from the Skin of the Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus Blake C. Ellis, Department of Neurosciences and Neuroscience Institute/Marine Biomedicine and Environmental Sciences Center, Charleston, SC 2:15-2:45 pm COFFEE BREAK 2:45-3:00 pm Genetic structure of bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida Christine Politz, Harbor Brach Oceanographic Institution 3:00-3:15 pm Development of a Dolphin cDNA Microarray Dr. Annalaura Mancia, Marine Biomedicine and Environmental Sciences Center, Medical University of South Carolina 3:15-3:30 pm DNA Strand Breaks as Determined by the Comet Assay in Blood Samples from Dolphins Collected from Charleston Harbor(SC) and Indian River Lagoon (FL) Dr. Richard Lee, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography 3:30-5:00 pm PANEL DISCUSSION/CLOSING REMARKS Juli D. Goldstein, D.V.M. Post-Doctoral Fellow Division of Marine Mammal Research and Conservation Harbor Branch Oceanographic 5600 US 1 North Ft. Pierce, Fl 34946 772-465-2400 ext. 434