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Microplastics in large whales occasionally found in German waters
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Researchers examined microplastic occurrence in intestinal and fecal samples from 18 whales and dolphins stranded on German and Danish North Sea and Baltic Sea coastlines between 2016 and 2022, finding an average of 4.6 MPs in odontocetes and 3.3 MPs in mysticetes per sample, with polyamide and polyester the dominant polymers and equal proportions of fragments and fibers.
Larger whales, such as fin (Balaenoptera physalus) or sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) occasionally end up in German waters. The federal state of Schleswig-Holstein (Germany) has a stranding network as part of its monitoring programme covering the North and Baltic Sea coastline. The ITAW is regularly conducting necropsies of dead stranded marine mammals since 1990. Besides the recording of body measurements, samples are also taken from various organs, such as the intestine. Here, we investigated the microplastic (MP) occurrence in intestinal and faecal samples from 18 whales stranded between 2016 and 2022 on the German North Sea (N=16) and Baltic Sea coasts (N=2) as well as one fin whale found in the Danish North Sea. Next to the mentioned species, also three minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), one killer whale (Orcinus orca), one pilot whale (Globicephala melas) and two dolphin specimens (Delphinus delphis and Lagenorhynchus albirostris) were analysed. Samples were treated after an established protocol to extract MPs (¿100µm) from biogenic matter by using washing sachets and a washing machine. Particles of interest were chosen for µFTIR spectroscopy, after Nile Red staining and fluorescence microscopy for pre-sorting were applied. An average load of 4.6 MPs in Odontocetes and 3.3 MPs in Mysticetes were found, besides a general share of both of 0 to 19 MPs per 10 gr of faeces. Polyamide and polyester were prevalent, the ratio of fragments to fibres was identical (39 fragments, 38 fibres). Furthermore, muscle and blubber samples were additionally analysed for 11 phthalate acid ester (PAEs), widely used as plastic additives. PAEs show a different pattern of accumulation among the different species and they concentrate preferentially in blubber rather than muscles. The study clearly shows an MP burden in large whales and related chemical compounds and contributes to forming a holistic picture of the investigated species. Also see: https://micro2024.sciencesconf.org/554106/document
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