The United States Navy maintains and employs approximately 70 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), and 25 sea lions (Zalophus californianus). These marine mammals are deployed all over the world and are specially trained to carry out specific missions and to provide Fleet support for the U.S. Navy. Given the value of these animals to the U.S. Navy, health maintenance and disease prevention for these animals are vital to the U.S. Navy ...
Deployed Navy dolphins are exposed to infectious agents and pollutants in environments that may compromise their health and system mission. Challenges dolphins experience during deployments include: transport to different time zones, changes in water temperature, contaminated water, varying acoustic levels, and exposure to wild marine mammal populations. These challenges (confinement/restraint, thermal stress, pollutants, and auditory stress) have been shown to cause immunosuppression in other manuals. Our laboratory has developed and ...
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