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Variations in phtalates concentration present in fin whales ("Balaenoptera physalus"), gray whales ("Eschrichtius robustus") and humpback whales ("Megaptera novaeangliae") in Mexican Pacific
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Researchers measured phthalate concentrations in tissue samples from three whale species in the Mexican Pacific, investigating whether plastics-associated endocrine-disrupting chemicals are accumulating in these large marine mammals. The study adds to growing evidence that plastic-derived chemical pollutants are entering marine mammal food webs.
Over last decades, plastics debris have become a major problem in the marine envionment due to its persistence and chemical properties. The fragments derived from the larger plastic can be easily incorporated in food web of marine organism and its added toxics chemicals are incorporanted in their tissues may cause long-term adverse effects. As an example the phtalates considered endocrine disrupters, can interact with hormone synthesis and alter reproduction or other physiological and metabolic functions. The purpose of this research is to determine concentration of phtalates present in three large whale species (Balaenoptera physalus, Eschrichtius robustus y Megaptera novaeangliae) from its economic, social and environmental importance to Mexican community. In this way we will use this chemical such as plastic tracer in these different species. The sampling shall be carried out according its principal areas of reproduction, breeding or feeding; San Ignacio Lagoon (gray whales), Los Cabos (humpback whales) and La Paz Bay (fin whales). Biopses of 30 individuals for each species will be take (90n). Therefore, extraction and analysis of phthalates will be carried out (DEHP and MEHP). The generated information will allow to establish a platform for a research field that is in development, as well to know the grade of impact caused by microplastics to which these marine organisms are exposed in the different regions.
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Seven cetacean species stranded on Germany's North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts were examined for microplastics and phthalate esters, with microplastics and plastic-associated chemicals detected in intestinal and fecal samples across baleen and toothed whale species alike.
Phthalate contamination in marine mammals off the Norwegian coast
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Researchers measured levels of 11 phthalates — plastic-softening chemicals that act as hormone disruptors — in the blubber of six marine mammal species along the Norwegian coast, detecting contamination in all species and finding the highest levels in white-beaked dolphins, highlighting ongoing chemical pollution threats to ocean wildlife.
Phthalate burdens of North Atlantic and South Pacific Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), and their species-specific mitochondrial effect
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Scientists found chemicals from plastic (called phthalates, used to make plastic soft and flexible) in the blubber of humpback whales from two different oceans, showing that this pollution has spread even to remote marine habitats. In lab tests, these chemicals disrupted the energy-producing machinery inside whale cells, even though they didn't kill the cells outright—raising concern about long-term health effects on whales and, since these same plastic chemicals are found in humans too, a reminder that our plastic waste is showing up in food chains and bodies far beyond where we'd expect.
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