Microplastics Have Been Found In The Breath Of Wild Bottlenose Dolphins Off The Coasts Of Florida And Louisiana, Suggesting Inhalation Is Another Exposure Method To These Harmful Particles
Marine mammals could be inhaling microplastics, according to new evidence of the particles in the breath of wild bottlenose dolphins off the coasts of Florida and Louisiana.
The discovery raises concerns about all the places in which microplastics can be found. Now we know that the areas dolphins inhabit aren’t safe from them either.
Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic that are less than five millimeters long. They have been found to have negative effects on human and animal health.
Previously, it was discovered that microplastics were present in marine mammals’ tissues through consumption. However, the new study suggests that inhalation is another significant method of exposure to these potentially harmful plastic particles.
“We found that dolphins may be breathing in microplastics, even if they live in rural areas away from high levels of human activity,” said Miranda Dziobak, a co-author of the study and an environmental scientist and public health instructor at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.
“This demonstrates that these particles are everywhere, regardless of urbanization and human development.”
At this point, microplastics have been found pretty much everywhere, from a mother’s milk to remote mountains. The wind can also blow microplastics across vast distances.
The researchers do not yet know how the inhalation of microplastics will affect dolphins, but they think it could damage their lungs. Humans have been found to breathe in the particles in a similar way.
The research team tested the dolphins’ breath by collecting samples from 11 wild bottlenose dolphins. Five were from Sarasota Bay in Florida, and the other six were from Barataria Bay in Louisiana.
Susiepics – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual dolphin
The samples were gathered during catch-and-release health assessments. The researchers held a petri dish up to each dolphin’s blowhole as the animal exhaled.
In addition, they collected samples of the surrounding air to make sure they were not just capturing airborne microplastic particles.
In the lab, they used microscopes to check for microplastics. Then, they utilized a soldering needle to see if the identified particles melted like plastic.
Finally, they employed Raman spectroscopy, a technique that uses a laser to identify chemicals in a material.
Overall, they found that each dolphin exhaled at least one microplastic particle. A total of 54 bits of microplastic were detected across all samples of the exhaled dolphin breath.
The most common type of plastic is polyester, which is often used in clothing. Other microplastics included polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a component of plastic packaging.
“Just as we suspected, dolphins are breathing in microplastics,” said the researchers. “Not only did we find that many of these dolphins were exposed to these chemicals, but their levels were higher than those found in humans.”
Microplastics within the ocean are tossed into the air through wave activity. As a result, dolphins and other marine mammals that surface to take a breath could be especially vulnerable to the particles.
Dolphins are often used as an indicator of the health of the marine ecosystem, so the findings show that microplastics truly are prevalent across the globe.
Further studies are needed to understand the potential health risks for the dolphins and, in turn, humans, particularly those who live near the coasts.
The details of the research were published in the journal PLOS One.
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