GEMA, Department of Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Americo Vespuccio S/N, Isla Cartuja, 41013 Sevilla, Spain.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2013 Apr 15;69(1-2):206-14. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.01.033. Epub 2013 Mar 1.
Marine debris has been found in marine animals since the early 20th century, but little is known about the impacts of the ingestion of debris in large marine mammals. In this study we describe a case of mortality of a sperm whale related to the ingestion of large amounts of marine debris in the Mediterranean Sea (4th published case worldwide to our knowledge), and discuss it within the context of the spatial distribution of the species and the presence of anthropogenic activities in the area that could be the source of the plastic debris found inside the sperm whale. The spatial distribution modelled for the species in the region shows that these animals can be seen in two distinct areas: near the waters of Almería, Granada and Murcia and in waters near the Strait of Gibraltar. The results shows how these animals feed in waters near an area completely flooded by the greenhouse industry, making them vulnerable to its waste products if adequate treatment of this industry's debris is not in place. Most types of these plastic materials have been found in the individual examined and cause of death was presumed to be gastric rupture following impaction with debris, which added to a previous problem of starvation. The problem of plastics arising from greenhouse agriculture should have a relevant section in the conservation plans and should be a recommendation from ACCOBAMS due to these plastics' and sperm whales' high mobility in the Mediterranean Sea.
自 20 世纪初以来，海洋动物体内就发现了海洋垃圾，但对于大型海洋哺乳动物吞食这些垃圾的影响却知之甚少。在本研究中，我们描述了一起与地中海大量吞食海洋垃圾有关的抹香鲸死亡案例（据我们所知，这是全球第 4 例有记录的案例），并在该物种的空间分布和该地区存在的人类活动背景下讨论了这一案例，这些人类活动可能是抹香鲸体内发现的塑料碎片的来源。该地区为该物种建模的空间分布表明，这些动物可以在两个不同的区域看到：阿尔梅里亚、格拉纳达和穆尔西亚附近的水域，以及直布罗陀海峡附近的水域。研究结果表明，这些动物在一个完全被温室产业淹没的区域附近水域觅食，如果没有对该产业的废弃物进行适当的处理，这些动物就容易受到其废弃物的影响。在被检查的个体中发现了大多数类型的这些塑料材料，死因被推测为是由于被碎片堵塞导致的胃破裂，这加剧了之前的饥饿问题。温室农业产生的塑料问题应该在保护计划中占有相关部分，并且由于这些塑料和抹香鲸在地中海具有很高的流动性，因此应该成为 ACCOBAMS 的建议。
