Microplastic and macroplastic ingestion by a deep diving, oceanic cetacean: The True's beaked whale Mesoplodon mirus

When mammals strand, they present a unique opportunity to obtain insights into their ecology. In May 2013, three True's beaked whales (two adult females and a female calf) stranded on the north and west coasts of Ireland and the contents of their stomachs and intestines were analysed for anthro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental pollution (1987) 2015-04, Vol.199, p.185-191
Main Authors: Lusher, Amy L., Hernandez-Milian, Gema, O'Brien, Joanne, Berrow, Simon, O'Connor, Ian, Officer, Rick
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Animals
Atlantic ocean
Benthosema glaciale
Cetacea
Coasts
Diving
Ecology
Environmental Monitoring
Female
Females
Gastrointestinal Contents
Ingestion
Ireland
Marine
Marine pollution
Mesoplodon mirus
Microplastics
Nansenia
Plastic debris
Plastics - analysis
Stomach
Strands
True's beaked whale
Water Pollutants - analysis
Whales
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Summary:When mammals strand, they present a unique opportunity to obtain insights into their ecology. In May 2013, three True's beaked whales (two adult females and a female calf) stranded on the north and west coasts of Ireland and the contents of their stomachs and intestines were analysed for anthropogenic debris. A method for identifying microplastics ingested by larger marine organisms was developed. Microplastics were identified throughout the digestive tract of the single whale that was examined for the presence of microplastics. The two adult females had macroplastic items in their stomachs. Food remains recovered from the adult whales consisted of mesopelagic fish (Benthosema glaciale, Nansenia spp., Chauliodius sloani) and cephalopods, although trophic transfer has been discussed, it was not possible to ascertain whether prey were the source of microplastics. This is the first study to directly identify microplastics
ISSN:0269-7491
1873-6424
DOI:10.1016/j.envpol.2015.01.023