Microplastics Prevalence in Different Cetaceans Stranded along the Western Taiwan Strait
Microplastics (MPs) pollution is of global concern, which poses serious threats to various marine organisms, including many threatened apex predators. In this study, MPs were investigated from nine cetaceans of four different species, comprising one common dolphin (<i>Delphinus delphis</i&g...
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MDPI AG
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/4/641 |
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| author | Reyilamu Aierken Yuke Zhang Qianhui Zeng Liming Yong Jincheng Qu Haoran Tong Xianyan Wang Liyuan Zhao |
| author_facet | Reyilamu Aierken Yuke Zhang Qianhui Zeng Liming Yong Jincheng Qu Haoran Tong Xianyan Wang Liyuan Zhao |
| author_sort | Reyilamu Aierken |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Microplastics (MPs) pollution is of global concern, which poses serious threats to various marine organisms, including many threatened apex predators. In this study, MPs were investigated from nine cetaceans of four different species, comprising one common dolphin (<i>Delphinus delphis</i>), two pygmy sperm whales (<i>Kogia breviceps</i>), one ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (<i>Mesoplodon ginkgodens</i>), and five Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (<i>Sousa chinensis</i>) stranded along the western coast of the Taiwan Strait from the East China Sea based on Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis. Mean abundances of 778 identified MPs items were 86.44 ± 12.22 items individual<sup>−1</sup> and 0.43 ± 0.19 items g<sup>−1</sup> wet weight of intestine contents, which were found predominantly to be transparent, fiber-shaped polyethylene terephthalate (PET) items usually between 0.5 and 5 mm. The abundance of MPs was found at a slightly higher level and significantly correlated with intestine contents mass (<i>p</i> = 0.0004*). The MPs source was mainly likely from synthetic fibers-laden sewage discharged from intense textile industries. Our report represents the first study of MPs in pelagic and deep-diving cetaceans in China, which not only adds baseline data on MPs for cetaceans in Asian waters but also highlights the further risk assessment of MPs consumption in these threatened species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:45:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-15602ab846e44fb2975a8dae962027bb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:45:12Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-15602ab846e44fb2975a8dae962027bb2024-02-23T15:04:54ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152024-02-0114464110.3390/ani14040641Microplastics Prevalence in Different Cetaceans Stranded along the Western Taiwan StraitReyilamu Aierken0Yuke Zhang1Qianhui Zeng2Liming Yong3Jincheng Qu4Haoran Tong5Xianyan Wang6Liyuan Zhao7Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, ChinaThird Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, ChinaThird Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, ChinaThird Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, ChinaThird Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, ChinaMuseum of Biology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, ChinaThird Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, ChinaThird Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, ChinaMicroplastics (MPs) pollution is of global concern, which poses serious threats to various marine organisms, including many threatened apex predators. In this study, MPs were investigated from nine cetaceans of four different species, comprising one common dolphin (<i>Delphinus delphis</i>), two pygmy sperm whales (<i>Kogia breviceps</i>), one ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (<i>Mesoplodon ginkgodens</i>), and five Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (<i>Sousa chinensis</i>) stranded along the western coast of the Taiwan Strait from the East China Sea based on Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis. Mean abundances of 778 identified MPs items were 86.44 ± 12.22 items individual<sup>−1</sup> and 0.43 ± 0.19 items g<sup>−1</sup> wet weight of intestine contents, which were found predominantly to be transparent, fiber-shaped polyethylene terephthalate (PET) items usually between 0.5 and 5 mm. The abundance of MPs was found at a slightly higher level and significantly correlated with intestine contents mass (<i>p</i> = 0.0004*). The MPs source was mainly likely from synthetic fibers-laden sewage discharged from intense textile industries. Our report represents the first study of MPs in pelagic and deep-diving cetaceans in China, which not only adds baseline data on MPs for cetaceans in Asian waters but also highlights the further risk assessment of MPs consumption in these threatened species.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/4/641microplasticscetaceanintestineTaiwan StraitEast China Seaapex predators |
| spellingShingle | Reyilamu Aierken Yuke Zhang Qianhui Zeng Liming Yong Jincheng Qu Haoran Tong Xianyan Wang Liyuan Zhao Microplastics Prevalence in Different Cetaceans Stranded along the Western Taiwan Strait Animals microplastics cetacean intestine Taiwan Strait East China Sea apex predators |
| title | Microplastics Prevalence in Different Cetaceans Stranded along the Western Taiwan Strait |
| title_full | Microplastics Prevalence in Different Cetaceans Stranded along the Western Taiwan Strait |
| title_fullStr | Microplastics Prevalence in Different Cetaceans Stranded along the Western Taiwan Strait |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microplastics Prevalence in Different Cetaceans Stranded along the Western Taiwan Strait |
| title_short | Microplastics Prevalence in Different Cetaceans Stranded along the Western Taiwan Strait |
| title_sort | microplastics prevalence in different cetaceans stranded along the western taiwan strait |
| topic | microplastics cetacean intestine Taiwan Strait East China Sea apex predators |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/4/641 |
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