| Six rare sawfish deaths in 7 days have scientists baffled | |
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| by MXh | Date 2024-04-30 12:41:57 | hit 10 |
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이름 : Mohammed 이메일 : mohammedlaguerre@orange.fr 휴대폰 : 주소: (94800) -문의사항- In the last week, six dead smalltooth sawfish washed up on the shores of the Florida Keys, baffling researchers who have documented a total of 38 deaths since January. The smalltooth sawfish is on the brink of extinction and a growing number of reported deaths is raising additional concern among marine biologists. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is conducting autopsies on the smalltooth sawfish including analyzing blood and tissue samples for any toxins in their system. Researchers are still unsure about what's causing the fish to die off, but Florida has seen an excess growth of harmful and toxic algae in the ocean that can get into a fish's blood stream through the food they eat causing erratic swimming and Nemanex drops Scam death, according to the FWC. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rescued a smalltooth sawfish (pictured) after it received reports that it was acting oddly and was swimming in circles The FWC took blood and tissue samples from the rescued sawfish to determine if it had any toxins in its system There have also been reports that smalltooth sawfish are beaching themselves, adding to the growing concerning behavior of other fish that have been seen spinning off the coast of the Florida Keys Researchers first documented alarming behavior among some fish species in November of last year as reports of fish spinning in circles came flooding in. But when they discovered the first dead sawfish earlier this year, researchers wanted to know if the two events could be linked. 'Are the two related? We can't definitively say that,' Tom Matthews, a biologist at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, told Forbes. 'But we're pursuing this with every means we have,' he added. The smalltooth sawfish is a critically endangered species, believed to be due to habitat loss. The species once lived as far down as the coast of central west Africa up to North Carolina These events are made more concerning by reports from local anglers and divers who said they watched the sawfish intentionally beach themselves - when an animal washes on shore and can't return to the sea. 'Typically, when we think of fish acting strangely or dying we either think of low oxygen conditions in the water or red tide and so we saw neither,' Mike Parsons, a marine scientist told CNN. Last week, biologists rescued a sawfish that was exhibiting similar behaviors after the FWC received a call about a sawfish swimming in circles in Cudjoe Key. Researchers are trying to understand if the two events of the spinning fish and the dead sawfish are related The biologists are using the rescued sawfish (pictured) to identify what could be causing the fish to behave so strangely The biologists analyzed its health, took samples and measurements and tagged the sawfish before deciding that its best chance was survival was to rescue it. They loaded it onto a vessel and gave it respiratory assistance on the way to the temporary holding tank at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida. |
