TY - JOUR
T1 - Large amounts of marine debris found in sperm whales stranded along the North Sea coast in early 2016
AU - Unger, Bianca
AU - Rebolledo, Elisa L Bravo
AU - Deaville, Rob
AU - Gröne, Andrea
AU - IJsseldijk, Lonneke L
AU - Leopold, Mardik F
AU - Siebert, Ursula
AU - Spitz, Jérôme
AU - Wohlsein, Peter
AU - Herr, Helena
N1 - Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/11/15
Y1 - 2016/11/15
N2 - 30 sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) stranded along the coasts of the North Sea between January and February 2016. The gastro-intestinal tracts of 22 of the carcasses were investigated. Marine debris including netting, ropes, foils, packaging material and a part of a car were found in nine of the 22 individuals. Here we provide details about the findings and consequences for the animals. While none of the items was responsible for the death of the animal, the findings demonstrate the high level of exposure to marine debris and associated risks for large predators, such as the sperm whale.
AB - 30 sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) stranded along the coasts of the North Sea between January and February 2016. The gastro-intestinal tracts of 22 of the carcasses were investigated. Marine debris including netting, ropes, foils, packaging material and a part of a car were found in nine of the 22 individuals. Here we provide details about the findings and consequences for the animals. While none of the items was responsible for the death of the animal, the findings demonstrate the high level of exposure to marine debris and associated risks for large predators, such as the sperm whale.
KW - Physeter macrocephalus
KW - Marine debris ingestion
KW - Fishing related debris
KW - Plastics
KW - Anthropogenic impact
KW - Pathological findings
U2 - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.08.027
DO - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.08.027
M3 - Article
C2 - 27539635
SN - 0025-326X
VL - 112
SP - 134
EP - 141
JO - Marine Pollution Bulletin
JF - Marine Pollution Bulletin
IS - 1-2
ER -
