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Environmental Risks of the Ocean for Marine Mammals

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This paper reviews how anthropogenic pollutants including plastic-associated chemicals accumulate in marine mammals of the Black Sea, causing physiological disruption. The analysis highlights toxic contamination as a serious and growing threat to marine ecosystem health.

Polymers
Study Type Environmental

The article analyzes the influence of anthropogenic pollutants on hydrobionts. It is defined that it’s possible to accumulate in their own toxic elements, to bring them to functional disruption in the processes of life. Significant accent is drawn on the difficulty of active toxicants of the Black Sea, as one of the indoor water basins in the World Ocean.According to the analysis, it was found that marine ink biocides adversely affect the coastal ecosystem, in particular non-target organisms, of the test substances, the most toxic is TBT, less toxic are diuron, zinc pyrethione and igarorol. Considerable damage is caused by the microplastics that enter the organisms by the seafood through the food chain, when consuming whole prey. Depending on the region of the oceans, mammals contained from 1 to 88 particles. Most of the established polymeric contaminants are synthetic materials, elastomers: polyethylene (PE), ethylene-propylene rubber, polyester, polyacrylamide, ethylene-propylene-diene monomer rubber (EPDM rubber), hydrogenated butadiene-nitrile rubber, nitrile rubber kevlar), regenerated cellulose fibers (SRCF). The accumulation of heavy metals in the coastal areas of the Black Sea, as an enclosed basin of the oceans, at concentrations higher than the limit values – copper, cadmium, and lead – is noted. Researches have shown that hazardous, excessive bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the aquatic environment and the potential threat to the life of aquatic organisms and consumers of seafood.The increasing of marine discharges into river basins contributes to the accumulation of organic compounds, including phosphorus and nitrogen in the coastal zone. Organic substances contribute to the flowering of algae accumulated in the coastal waters of cyanotoxins. Cyanotoxins lead to severe neuropathological diseases in dolphins. Some chlorine-containing compounds found in industrial discharges are cumulative and adversely affect the health of scavengers, such as top-level predators.

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