A variety of human activities pose a threat to marine mammals, which include whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, sea otters, dugongs, and manatees. Several species, including the Vaquita porpoise, Rice’s whale, and the North Atlantic right whale, have been brought dangerously close to extinction.
Debris made of plastic is especially problematic. Marine animals can ingest plastic bags, food wrappers, ropes, and fishing gear that has been left behind, or they get stuck in plastic objects like fishing nets. Both possibilities carry the risk of harm and, frequently, death.
In 2019, 34 dolphins and whales became stranded along the Greek coastline, and autopsies performed on those animals revealed that nine of them (representing four distinct species) had swallowed plastic; three of these animals’ deaths were attributed to plastic intake. Additionally, recent US research has found that microplastics pose a more subdued hazard to marine animals.
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Extending the Microplastics Impact
Microplastics (small plastic particles less than 5mm in diameter) in the water frequently build up in an animal’s gills or digestive system. The most recent research, however, discovered microplastics in several other tissues of numerous whale, dolphin, and seal species.
This shows that microplastic particles can somehow “translocate” (travel from one location on an animal’s body to another). Not only for marine creatures but also for people, this discovery could have health repercussions.
32 unique animals from 12 different marine mammal species were used by the researchers to collect tissue samples. Between 2000 and 2021, either these creatures were left on the beach or they were harvested.
The whales’ blubber, melon (a fatty structure on their forehead), acoustic fat pads (from their mouth), and lung tissue were all collected for testing. All of them are essential for marine animals’ ability to breathe, hear, locate prey, and stay warm.
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Source: Channel News Asia
