Amy L. Lusher, Gema Hernandez-Milian, Joanne O’Brien, Simon Berrow, Ian
O’Connor, Rick Officer, Microplastic and macroplastic ingestion by a
deep diving, oceanic cetacean: The True’s beaked whale Mesoplodon mirus,
Environmental Pollution, Volume 199, April 2015, Pages 185-191, ISSN
0269-7491, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2015.01.023.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749115000421)
Abstract: When mammals strand, they present a unique opportunity to
obtain insights into their ecology. In May 2013, three True’s beaked
whales (two adult females and a female calf) stranded on the north and
west coasts of Ireland and the contents of their stomachs and intestines
were analysed for anthropogenic debris. A method for identifying
microplastics ingested by larger marine organisms was developed.
Microplastics were identified throughout the digestive tract of the
single whale that was examined for the presence of microplastics. The
two adult females had macroplastic items in their stomachs. Food remains
recovered from the adult whales consisted of mesopelagic fish
(Benthosema glaciale, Nansenia spp., Chauliodius sloani) and
cephalopods, although trophic transfer has been discussed, it was not
possible to ascertain whether prey were the source of microplastics.
This is the first study to directly identify microplastics <5 mm in a cetacean species. Keywords: Atlantic ocean; Marine pollution; Plastic debris; True's beaked whale; Microplastics