Leiden University College, Leiden University, P.O. Box 13228, 2501 EE The Hague, the Netherlands.
Leiden University College, Leiden University, P.O. Box 13228, 2501 EE The Hague, the Netherlands; Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, P.O Box 9518, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2022 Jul;180:113745. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113745. Epub 2022 May 30.
Marine mammals can serve as an indicator of ecosystem health, and are likely exposed to significant amounts of microplastics (MPs). In this study we estimated the MP uptake of two odontocetes, the short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) and the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), in the Mediterranean Sea and the Northeast Atlantic. These two species are expected to primarily ingest MPs through trophic transfer. To this end, data was collected on their diet, which was subsequently linked to MP occurrence and abundance in prey families. We estimated that D. delphis ingests 76 MPs/day in the Northeast Atlantic and 164 MPs/day in the Mediterranean, and T. truncatus ingests 36 MPs/day in the Northeast Atlantic and 179 MPs/day in the Mediterranean. This study provides important new predictions on MP exposure in two odontocetes, and opens up new research opportunities on the effect of this exposure on the health of organisms.
海洋哺乳动物可以作为生态系统健康的指标，并且很可能会摄入大量的微塑料（MPs）。在这项研究中，我们估计了地中海和东北大西洋两种齿鲸（短吻海豚和宽吻海豚）的 MP 摄取量。这两种物种预计主要通过营养转移摄入 MPs。为此，我们收集了有关它们饮食的数据，随后将其与猎物家族中 MPs 的出现和丰度相关联。我们估计，东北大西洋的 D. delphis 每天摄入 76 个 MPs，地中海的 D. delphis 每天摄入 164 个 MPs，东北大西洋的 T. truncatus 每天摄入 36 个 MPs，地中海的 T. truncatus 每天摄入 179 个 MPs。这项研究为两种齿鲸的 MP 暴露提供了重要的新预测，并为研究这种暴露对生物体健康的影响开辟了新的研究机会。
