Plastic debris poses a particularly significant problem for marine mammals like whales, dolphins and seals, says this research scientist.
PLYMOUTH, United Kingdom: Marine mammals - animals including whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, sea otters, dugongs and manatees - are threatened by an array of human activities. Species such as the North Atlantic right whale, Rice’s whale and Vaquita porpoise have been pushed to the brink of extinction.poses a particularly significant problem.
Samples were taken from the animals’ blubber, melon , acoustic fat pads , and lung tissue. These all serve vital functions such as enabling marine mammals to breathe, hear, locate prey and keep warm. Nonetheless, studies have shown that microplastic fragments can cause the formation of scar tissue in the stomachs of seabirds. And there are also concerns that the chemicals present in marine plastic litter may leach into the tissues of marine mammals upon ingestion.
But the US study has found the presence of larger microplastic particles in non-digestive tissues, suggesting this assumption might not hold true. Separate studies in the Persian Gulf and Black Sea have also revealed a variety of microplastic sizes present in non-digestive tissues of commercial fish.
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