(Phys.org)—A team of researchers with members from institutions in Australia, the U.S. and the U.K. has found evidence that suggests increased dolphin familiarity with humans has led to an increase in injury and death to the marine mammals. In their paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the team describes their study and why they believe current trends could lead to a drop in the dolphin population along the Florida coast. In a related paper in the same journal, a team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in Australia reports on an unusual mortality event (UME) involving cases of morbillivirus in several types of dolphins and offer a theory regarding why it may have occurred.