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They are a Florida icon.

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Smart, agile, and playful, dolphins have sparked 
the imaginations of many, and their undersea

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world might be linked with ours more than 
we know.

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We look at the Bottlenose dolphins as very 
good sentinels of the health of the coastal

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ecosystem.

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Dolphins are a barometer; they re an apex 
predator in an environment that we all share.

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They re breathing the same air that we breathe.

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They re swimming through the same water 
in which we swim.

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They re eating the same fish that we catch.

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And granted, we re not in the water as much 
as they are and we re not eating as many

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of the fish, but if problems were going to 
show up, we would expect them to show up in

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the dolphins first.

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For decades, toxic chemicals have made their 
way into the oceans, leaving fish and marine

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mammals vulnerable.

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Dolphins that have washed up in various places, 
including in the southeastern United States,

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they have to be treated as toxic waste.

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The levels of contaminants are so high.

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Some animals show disturbing signs of immune 
system dysfunction and disease, which may

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be linked to contaminant exposure.

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They re kind of like the 400 lb miner s 
canary.

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Um, these animals are telling us what s 
happening.

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We ve used the oceans as our toilet for 
centuries, and now I think we re starting

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to see the effects of that through all these 
new health issues that are coming up.

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So if these dolphins here on our coastlines, 
these apex predators, they re getting sick,

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well who s next?

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It s the humans.