2016 common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) data to evaluate reproductive health among wild dolphins in Barataria Bay, Louisiana

Previous studies with common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Barataria Bay, Louisiana have demonstrated that exposure to petroleum products following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused adrenal gland and lung disease, which contributed to increased mortality and decreased reproductive success during the immediate years following the oil spill. As such, there is a need to continue to monitor the reproductive health of dolphins in Barataria Bay to determine changes in reproductive success over time. This database contains health assessment and histologic data from live and dead dolphins in Barataria Bay and surrounding coastal waters using methods previously described. For the data on live dolphins, adult females, particularly those known to be reproductively mature based on previous sightings with a calf, were the focus of these health assessments. Relevant data for each live wild dolphin sampled include sampling location (latitude and longitude), date, time, sex, morphometrics, and diagnostic test results including the following: (1) blood gas and end-tidal CO2 variables, (2) hematology and serum chemistry values, (3) hormone analyses, (4) immune function profiles, (5) lung ultrasound scores, and (6) ultrasound-based reproductive biophysical scores. Histologic data from dead, stranded dolphins in Barataria Bay and surrounding coastal waters include characterization of adrenal and lung lesions in fresh dead, non-perinates (as well as key lesions and cause of death), and characterization of lung lesions in stranded perinatal (nearbirth) dolphins.