Evaluating the presence of microplastics in striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) stranded in the Western Mediterranean sea.
2020
Novillo Sanjuan, Olga | Raga Esteve, Juan Antonio | Tomás Aguirre, Jesús
Litter is a well-known problem for marine species; however, we still know little about the extent to which they're affected by microplastics. In this study, we analyse tl1e presence of this type of debris in Western Mecliterranean striped dolphins' intestinal contents over three decades. Results indicated that frequency was high, as 90.5% of dolphins contained microplastics. Of these microplastics, 73.6% were fibres, 23.87% were fragments and 2.53% were prirnary pellets. In spite of the high frequency of occurrence, microplastic amount per dolphin was relatively low and highly variable (mean ± SD = 14.9 ± 22.3; 95% CI: 9.58--23.4). Through FT-IR spectrometry, we found that polyacrylamide, typically found in synthetic clothes, was the most common plastic polymer. Here, we establish a starting point for further research on how microplastics affect this species' health and discuss the use of striped dolphins as indicators of microplastics at sea.
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