Episode 88

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Published on:

11th May 2025

Animal ForensiCon 2025: Sharp Trauma in Cetaceans and Sirenians with Denise Boyd

Denise Boyd, researcher with the  Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, shares with us the dangers faced by manatees, dolphins and whales in Southwest Florida from collisions with boats.

The 2025 Animal ForensiCon: The Animal Forensic Investigations Conference is a three-day event, offered in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida from May 7th to 9th, 2025. The conference is hosted by the University of Florida’s Veterinary Forensic Sciences Laboratory.

ForensiCon offers workshops and educational sessions on a wide variety of topics pertaining to criminal investigations, law, small animal investigations, equine and livestock investigations, and wildlife crimes. This conference is open to anyone interested in animal forensic investigations. Attendees will also have the opportunity to network with faculty, experts, and investigators

Transcript
DrG:

This last presentation is something that I don't know a lot about, so it

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was really cool to learn some from it.

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So here is Denise Boyd.

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She just talked about documenting signs of

sharp trauma in Cetaceans and Sirenians.

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Thank you for being here.

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Denise Boyd: Thank you.

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Thank you for having me.

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Um, yep.

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My name is Denise Boyd.

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I work for the Florida Fish and

Wildlife Conservation Commission.

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I'm in their wildlife

research institute division.

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The research section in marine mammals.

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And my job is specific to response

to sinrenians, which serve manatees

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and cetaceans, which are dolphins

and whales in southwest Florida.

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Those are my primary job duties

and the majority of the animals

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we encounter are deceased.

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And so we evaluate these animals as

they come in and conduct an animal

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autopsy, which is called a necropsy.

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And we do as part of that, an external

examination and we document any wounds or

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lesions and the way they present and the

orientation of their pre presentation.

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And when animals have been negatively

impacted, specifically marine mammals,

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if they're impacted by a vessel, it will

leave a very distinct series of wounds or

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injuries on an animal's back or its skin.

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And so what I talked about today is

just how to document, photograph, and

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report out on those types of injuries.

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So for example, a propeller will make

a series of linear to slightly curved

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lacerations in an order or a series.

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They're roughly equidistant

apart, so they measure like two

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centimeters apart consistently.

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And you'll

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record and photograph and measure those

wounds, and then you look internally

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and document any underlying injuries.

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So often associated with animals

that have been impacted by a vessel

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while alive, when you look underneath

those wounds you'll find blood

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clots, torn in hemorrhagic muscle.

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You'll actually see the muscles will

curl once they're torn or lacerated by

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say a, a boat propeller.

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And so I presented on that, that some

of those vessel or watercraft parts

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that project out like a propeller,

a boat shaft, a scag, a rudder, can

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cause sharp trauma on a marine mammal.

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That there's also the possibility

that they're impacted by blunt forces.

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So the underside of the boat, which

is the hull at the front, it's the

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bow or the back, it's the stern.

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The broad impact and blunt force

at a vessel that's going very

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fast can also cause significant

damage without any sharp trauma.

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It would be all blunt.

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So that has the capacity, specifically

in manatees, to fracture ribs.

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Those ribs can then be pushed internally

and damage a lung and damage an abdomen

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and cause a lot of internal organ damage.

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And so they may look fine on the surface.

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They may have just a small scrape or

superficial injury, but all of the

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force of the blunt hull impact has been

translated deeper into the animal, and

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you'll see these injuries inside that

are consistent with a vessel interaction.

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So that's mostly what I

talked about for today.

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DrG: How can this information help

us with preventing these injuries?

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Denise Boyd: So in Florida specifically,

there are speed zones that are set for in

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areas where manatees are in high numbers.

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And so boaters have to

go at slower speeds.

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So they do not impact those.

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So if we have animals that are found

repeatedly in an area that should be slow

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speed zone, we can make recommendations

to law enforcement that maybe the

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area is not seeing a high level of

compliance with those speed zones.

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So it's important for us to document

these injuries and where the

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animals are coming in that present

with those types of injuries.

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Or conversely, if we have an area that

we're seeing a lot of mortality and there

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isn't a speed zone in place, should we

make a recommendation to put one in?

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So it's primarily to, to help keep

the number of animals that are dying

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due to these, uh, interactions lower.

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DrG: Excellent.

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Well, this has been super informational

and educational, so thank you so much for

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being here, and thank you for what you do.

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Denise Boyd: All right.

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Thank you.

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About the Podcast

The Animal Welfare Junction
Veterinary Forensics
The Animal Welfare Junction is a podcast developed to bring awareness to different topics in animal welfare. The host, Michelle Gonzalez (Dr. G) is a veterinarian who provides affordable veterinary care in the State of Ohio, and also a Forensic Veterinarian helping with the investigation and prosecution of cases of animal cruelty and neglect.
The topics presented are based on the experiences of Dr. G and our guests and include discussions about real cases, humane projects, and legal issues that affect animals and the community. Due to the nature of the discussion, listener discretion is advised as some topics may be too strong for some listeners.

About your host

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Alba Gonzalez

Michelle González (DrG) was born and raised in Puerto Rico. Her passion growing up was to become a veterinarian. She obtained a B.S. in Zoology at Michigan State University and the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at The Ohio State University, followed by a 1-yr Internship in Medicine, Surgery, Emergency and Critical Care at the University of Missouri-Columbia. In 2006 she founded the Rascal Unit, a mobile clinic offering accesible and affordable sterilization, and wellness services throughout the State of Ohio.
Dr. G is involved in many aspects of companion veterinary medicine including education, shelter assistance and help to animals that are victims of cruelty and neglect.
DrG completed a Master’s degree in Veterinary Forensics from the University of Florida and a Master’s in Forensic Psychology from Southern New Hampshire University. She is currently enrolled at the University of Florida Forensic Science program. She assists Humane organizations and animal control officers in the investigation, evaluation, and prosecution of cases of animal cruelty and neglect.