Besseling E, Foekema E M, Van Franeker J A, Leopold M F, Kühn S, Bravo Rebolledo E L, Heße E, Mielke L, IJzer J, Kamminga P, Koelmans A A
Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands; IMARES - Institute for Marine Resources & Ecosystem Studies, Wageningen UR, P.O. Box 68, 1970 AB IJmuiden, The Netherlands.
IMARES - Institute for Marine Resources & Ecosystem Studies, Wageningen UR, P.O. Box 68, 1970 AB IJmuiden, The Netherlands.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2015 Jun 15;95(1):248-52. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.04.007. Epub 2015 Apr 24.
Marine filter feeders are exposed to microplastic because of their selection of small particles as food source. Baleen whales feed by filtering small particles from large water volumes. Macroplastic was found in baleen whales before. This study is the first to show the presence of microplastic in intestines of a baleen whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). Contents of its gastrointestinal tract were sieved, dissolved in 10% potassium hydroxide and washed. From the remaining dried material, potential synthetic polymer particles were selected based on density and appearance, and analysed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Several polymer types (polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinylchloride, polyethylene terephthalate, nylon) were found, in varying particle shapes: sheets, fragments and threads with a size of 1mm to 17cm. This diversity in polymer types and particle shapes, can be interpreted as a representation of the varying characteristics of marine plastic and the unselective way of ingestion by M. novaeangliae.
海洋滤食性动物由于选择小颗粒作为食物来源而接触到微塑料。须鲸通过从大量水体中过滤小颗粒来进食。此前在须鲸体内发现过大塑料。本研究首次表明在一头座头鲸（大翅鲸）的肠道中存在微塑料。对其胃肠道内容物进行筛选，溶解于10%的氢氧化钾中并清洗。从剩余的干燥物质中，根据密度和外观选择潜在的合成聚合物颗粒，并通过傅里叶变换红外（FTIR）光谱进行分析。发现了几种聚合物类型（聚乙烯、聚丙烯、聚氯乙烯、聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯、尼龙），颗粒形状各异：有尺寸为1毫米至17厘米的薄片、碎片和细丝。聚合物类型和颗粒形状的这种多样性，可以解释为海洋塑料不同特性以及大翅鲸无选择性摄食方式的一种体现。
