From August 26 to 30, 2017, Hurricane Harvey inundated the Galveston Bay estuary in Texas with record-breaking rainfall. As a result, salinity levels in the bay declined rapidly from an average of 14 to < 1 ppt, altering aquatic habitat in the weeks following the storm. Long-term photo-identification monitoring efforts provided an opportunity to undertake a case study describing the effects of this extreme flood event on the bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) inhabiting upper Galveston Bay. We compared dolphin encounter rates for the months preceding and following Harvey to a year with no hurricane, examined shifts in habitat-based encounter rates, and evaluated the prevalence and extent of dolphin skin lesions, typically presenting as ulcerated or degraded epidermis. Encounter rates decreased from 1.09 dolphins per linear kilometer (d/km) in August 2017 before Harvey to 0.29 d/km in September 2017 (compared to 0.85 d/km in August 2016 and 0.91 d/km in September 2016). While most dolphins evacuated the upper portion of the bay, many remaining dolphins shifted habitats from shallow open bay to deep channels where salinity increased with depth. Of the dolphins that were sighted in the upper bay during the low salinity event, 96% exhibited at least one lesion and 65% of those dolphins had lesions of medium or high extent (significant increases compared to pre-Harvey levels). After salinity returned to levels above 11 ppt (approximately 8 weeks after Harvey), encounter rates increased and extent of lesions decreased, but prevalence of lesions remained elevated for at least 4 months after Harvey.

中文翻译：

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哈维飓风对德克萨斯州上加尔维斯顿湾宽吻海豚（Tursiops truncatus）的短期影响

2017年8月26日至30日，哈维飓风以创纪录的降雨淹没了德克萨斯州的加尔维斯顿湾河口。结果，海湾的盐度水平从平均水平14迅速下降到<1 ppt，在风暴过后的几周内改变了水生栖息地。长期的照片识别监控工作提供了进行案例研究的机会，该案例描述了这种极端洪水事件对宽吻海豚（Tursiops truncatus）居住在加尔维斯顿湾上游。我们比较了在哈维之前和之后与没有飓风的一年之间的海豚遭遇率，检查了以栖息地为基础的遭遇率的变化，并评估了海豚皮肤损伤的发生率和程度，通常表现为溃疡或退化的表皮。遭遇率从2017年8月在哈维之前的1.09海豚/线性公里（d / km）降至2017年9月的0.29 d / km（2016年8月为0.85 d / km和2016年9月为0.91 d / km）。当大多数海豚撤离海湾上部时，许多剩余的海豚将栖息地从浅开阔的海湾转移到深处，盐度随深度增加。在低盐度事件中在上海湾看到的海豚中，96％的人至少表现出一种病变，其中65％的海豚具有中等或高度病变（与Harvey之前的水平相比有明显增加）。在盐度恢复到高于11 ppt的水平后（Harvey大约8周后），遭遇率增加且病灶范围减少，但Harvey后至少4个月病灶的患病率仍然升高。