- September 9, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
Behind the scenes at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, the Stranding Investigations team takes on every necessary call, and every one could have a different end result.
Staff Scientist and Program Coordinator Gretchen Lovewell said the end result is important no matter the outcome.
If a rescued animal is able to be saved, Lovewell’s team works hand-in-hand with the rehabilitation teams at Mote, who take over once the animal arrives at the facility on Ken Thompson Parkway.
But even if the animal can’t be saved, what that animal’s necropsy, or animal autopsy, reveals can be equally as important. Any amount of data can help to show what happened to the animal or give insight into the local environment.
“If we don’t tell these animals’ stories, who will?” Lovewell said.
On call 24/7, the Stranding Investigations crew receives about 600-900 calls per year, according to Lovewell.
The department is fully-dependent on public reports, which Lovewell said was made much easier with the introduction of cellphones. That not only increased their call volume, but made it easier to “troubleshoot” the issue with the caller.
For example, sometimes the call is more about educating the public rather than an emergency. Someone may call concerned about seemingly abnormal manatee behavior, but could just be normal mating behavior that can be described over the phone after the caller sends a video.
But when the call does require a response, Lovewell’s team springs into action.
“When they’re alive, we put on our EMT or rescue hats, and we go out there and try to do the best thing we can for that animal,” Lovewell said.
In some cases, sea turtles or marine mammals that the team responds to can be released right away. This is relatively rare though, Lovewell said, and usually is when an animal is tangled in something like fishing line or buoy markers.
When new patients arrive at Mote’s hospital, Lovewell said teams immediately start taking things like vitals, blood work and pictures, while also starting necessary medicine and fluids.
Sometimes, the team has some help from local law enforcement. Lovewell said agencies like the Sarasota Police Department (SPD) and Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) frequently assist the Stranding Investigations team on rescue calls given they can launch boats quicker, and some officers have enough experience to help transport the animals.
“So it’s such a great partnership at all levels,” Lovewell said. “It’s remarkable.”
One recent rescue is a prime example. Lil' Dougie, a current patient at Mote’s sea turtle hospital, was named after the SCSO officer that helped rescue her. She was found floating in Blackburn Bay, and upon investigation was found to be missing a piece of her front left flipper, possibly from a shark bite.
Lil' Dougie arrived at Mote on May 27. She is healing well and almost ready to be released, according to Lovewell.
Releases, Lovewell said, are some of the best days.
“When you see a lot of the sad, awful stuff that our team sees, it’s really good for us to be able to see that full circle,” Lovewell said.
In cases that don’t end in release — whether found dead or don’t make it through rehabilitation — the job isn’t done.
The next step for Lovewell and her team is a necropsy, which is an autopsy of an animal. Each one is different depending on the species, but could last anywhere from two to eight hours, Lovewell said.
She compared it to being crime scene investigators — trying to find the cause of death and investigating what happened to the animal.
A necropsy is a very systematic process. Each usually starts with photographs and measurements of the animal and an evaluation of any signs of human interaction. Then, the animal is opened up, which is a different process for each animal.
When looking through the animal, Lovewell and the Mote staff are looking for any abnormalities in color, smell, texture or shape. Sometimes tissue samples will be sent for pathological review, and samples sent for biopsies.
“We’ve asked a lot of different questions by doing that (necropsy),” Lovewell said. “It gives us a sense of the health of our local waters in our backyard, the sort of effects we’re having on the animals with human interaction.”
Human interaction is a frequent cause of death, which is the case for 40% of sea turtle deaths, according to Lovewell.
But, there are times when the team can’t define a specific cause of death.
“If the animals are really decomposed, we can’t always get cause of death, but there’s still a lot of valuable information about life history,” Lovewell said. “We still find value in it.”
Even after death, an animal can be important for research.
Mote is home to the Ruth DeLynn Cetacean Osteological Collection, named in honor of the Mote volunteer who started the collection and curated it for about 30 years.
“It’s really a biological library,” Lovewell said.
The skeletons, some dating back to the 1970s, have been used for studies on bone density, skull morphology, age, growth and other things.
According to Mote’s website, The Committee on Systematic Collections of the American Society of Mammalogists said the collection is “one of the most important and significant cetacean collections in the world.”
In the collection, skeletons of marine mammals — mostly dolphins — are preserved in boxes on bookshelves, each with an identifying number. Lovewell can go around the room, picking out boxes and telling the animal’s story.
For example, she can tell the story of one bottlenose dolphin, which was the subject of a deep-dive necropsy. Lovewell said the team spent a while trying to figure out the cause of death, when they noticed an abnormal shape on the back of the skull.
Upon further examination, the team discovered part of a stingray barb lodged in the back of the skull.
Lovewell said that the information gathered in all stages — whether it’s the rehabilitation intake or the necropsy — can be valuable information to work toward advocating for more protection for these animals, and to help tell the story of a species.
“If we can do a really good job and document things well enough, we can effect change and help the rest of the animals that are out there which, I think, is really important,” Lovewell said.
