Toxic Chemicals From Fossil Fuels Are Poisoning East Coast Dolphins and Whales, Study Finds
06 August
Animals
Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute staff and volunteers try to help a stranded bottlenose dolphin in Cockroach Bay near Ruskin, Florida on Sept. 17, 2015. FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
A new study gives a first look at the presence and potential effects of plastics and new forms of synthetic chemicals in stranded dolphins and whales along the coast of the southeastern U.S.
<p>New toxins and chemicals entering the market are bombarding the ocean and its inhabitants on an unprecedented scale, according to the research that was published Wednesday in <em><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00630/full" target="_blank">Frontiers in Marine Science</a></em>, as <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00630/full" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported. Large ocean mammals that washed up ashore between 2012 and 2018 are similar to a canary in a coal mine, according to <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/humanitys-newest-toxins-found-in-stranded-whales-and-dolphins/" target="_blank">Courthouse News</a>, since these animals retain chemical deposits in their blubber and offer a window into the health of the larger ocean ecosystem.</p><p>The animals tested comprised toothed whales, which include dolphins, porpoises and other whales like the melon-headed whale and the Cuvier's beaked whale, according to CNN.</p>
<p>"Marine mammals are ecosystem sentinels that reflected anthropogenic threats through their health — which has implications for human health as well," says lead author assistant professor Annie Page-Karjian of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University, in a <a href="https://blog.frontiersin.org/2020/08/05/tracking-humanitys-latest-toxins-in-stranded-whales-and-dolphins/" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p><p>"For example, many of the species in this study prey upon fishes that are also preferred species for human consumption — so monitoring concentrations of contaminants in these animals provides a relatively low-cost snapshot of the potential exposure risk in humans, as well as other marine animals."</p>
<p>The stranded animals included 11 different species, providing the first evidence for two rarer species: white-beaked dolphin and Gervais' beaked whales, according to <em><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00630/full" target="_blank">Frontiers in Marine Science</a></em>. The stranded animals represented males and females, young and old, which allowed the scientists to look at differences between the groups.</p><p>The results showed that species such as bottlenose dolphins had higher amounts of lead and mercury in their system than pygmy sperm whales. Female bottlenose dolphins had higher levels of arsenic than their male counterparts. Dolphins stranded in Florida displayed higher concentrations of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/lead">lead</a>, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/mercury">mercury</a> and selenium and lower iron levels than those stranded in North Carolina, according to Courthouse News.</p>
<p>These toxic chemicals mostly enter the ecosystem from the burning of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuels</a> and mining, said Alistair Dove, vice president of research and conservation at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, to CNN. Dove was not involved in the study.</p><p>Dolphins like to eat a wide variety of fish, many of which are also eaten by people. For example, dolphins are known to enjoy shrimp and octopus, and on the U.S. East Coast, dolphins like to eat animals like herring, mackerel and flounder, said Page-Karjian, as CNN reported.</p><p>"If humans eat a lot of fish that contain too much arsenic and mercury, these metals can poison the liver and other organs, or cause neurological damage to the brain and nervous system," said Dove to CNN.</p>
<p>As Courthouse News noted, the most oceanic pollution begins on land. Septic tanks, vehicles, farms and ranches all use or produce pollutants that eventually make their way into the ocean thanks to runoff. Trash produced far inland eventually makes its way into the ocean via rivers and canals. The scientists note that curbing this upstream pollution from runoff and the use of single plastics would go a long way to helping the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans">oceans</a> heal.</p><p>"If we reduce the use of fossil fuels, we can slow the rate of climate change and put fewer pollutants into the ocean," Dove said to CNN. "This applies to mercury, which most often comes from coal-fired power plants, and even plastics, which are ultimately produced from natural gas."</p>
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By Fino Menezes
Everyone adores dolphins. Intelligent, inquisitive and playful, these special creatures have captivated humans since the dawn of time. But dolphins didn't get to where they are by accident — they needed to develop some pretty amazing superpowers to cope with their environment.
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3858286e8fe1451b5a8a716a5d140d67"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/brightvibes/videos/870290333157607/" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div><p><em>These extraordinarily intelligent creatures have been seen to display culture, use tools, and display altruism, traits long-thought to be unique to humans. </em><em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/brightvibes/videos/870290333157607/" target="_blank">Facebook / BrightVibes</a></em></p>
Adapting to Life in the Ocean Required Some Serious Skills for a Mammal
<p>Dolphins have developed some incredible abilities that continue to amaze researchers.</p>1. Sleep
<p>Everything needs to sleep, but dolphins have found a clever workaround. They shut down only half their brain at a time while the <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090501090908.htm" target="_blank">other half remains conscious</a> and takes over all functions. What's more, the mammals seem to be able to remain continually vigilant for sounds for days on end.</p>2. Vision
<p>Besides sonar, which is itself pretty incredible, <a href="https://brightvibes.com/915/en/10-surprising-superpowers-of-dolphins" target="_blank">dolphins have excellent eyesight</a>. A panoramic range of vision of 300° allows them to see in two directions at once and even behind themselves — both in <u>and</u> out of the water.</p>3. Super Skin
<p>Dolphin skin grows about 9 times faster than ours, and an entire layer of skin is replaced every two hours. Their skin secretes a special non-stick <a href="https://seaworld.org/en/animal-info/animal-infobooks/bottlenose-dolphins/physical-characteristics" target="_blank">antibacterial gel</a> to deter barnacles and parasites.</p>4. They Rescue Other Species
<p>There are many tales of <a href="https://www.dolphins-world.com/dolphins-rescuing-humans/" target="_blank">dolphins helping humans</a> in the high sea. Sometimes they'll even go out of their way to help other aquatic species.</p>5. Respiration
<p>Bottlenose dolphins can hold their breath for 12 minutes and dive to 550 metres (1800ft) due to <a href="https://seaworld.org/en/animal-info/animal-infobooks/bottlenose-dolphins/adaptations" target="_blank">hyper-efficient lungs</a>. Dolphins have more red blood cells with greater concentrations of hemoglobin than we do.</p>6. Healing
<p>Scientists are baffled by dolphins' ability to not only heal quickly but seemingly <a href="https://www.livescience.com/15150-dolphin-recovery-human-healing.html" target="_blank">regenerate missing parts</a>. And dolphins won't bleed to death despite huge wounds, having the ability to <a href="https://www.rebelmouse.com/wordpress-vip-2401656056.html" target="_blank">constrict blood vessels</a> to stem the flow.</p>7. Pain
<p>Dolphins are as <a href="http://sciencenetlinks.com/science-news/science-updates/dolphin-healing/" target="_blank">sensitive to pain as humans</a>, but when inflicted with serious wounds scientists believe they are able to produce <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/dolphins-shark-attacks-dolphins-heal-regenerate-wounded-fins/story?id=14165362&page=2#.T6OOkuiWm8A" target="_blank">natural morphine-strength painkillers</a> that are nonaddictive.</p>8. Thrust
<p>While an Olympic swimmer can produce around 60 or 70 pounds of thrust, a dolphin is capable of <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081124131334.htm" target="_blank">300 to 400 pounds of thrust</a> and is one of the oceans most efficient swimmers.</p>9. Infection
<p>How dolphins are able to <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2011/07/26/138677504/shark-bites-no-match-for-dolphins-powers-of-healing" target="_blank">swim with open wounds</a> in the bacteria-riddled ocean and not die of infection, scientists still don't know for sure, but the best guess is that dolphins have managed to siphon off <a href="http://www.jidonline.org/" target="_blank">a</a><a href="http://www.jidonline.org/" target="_blank">ntibiotics made by plankton and algae</a>.</p>10. Electroreception
<p>Dolphins can actually <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2011/07/guiana-dolphins-can-use-electric-signals-locate-prey" target="_blank">sense the electrical impulses</a> given off by all living things. They probably use this ability to hunt fish in turbid water and muddy sediments.</p><p>These extraordinarily intelligent and graceful creatures have also been seen to display culture, use tools, and display altruism, traits long-thought to be unique to humans.</p>
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EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
If you are worried about herring worm, just cut your piece of sushi in half before eating it. Nandaro / CC BY-SA 3.0
The population of a marine parasite that sometimes worms its way into sushi has increased by 283 times in the last nearly 40 years, a University of Washington (UW)-led study has found.
<p>The study, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/gcb.15048" target="_blank">published in Global Change Biology Thursday</a>, reviewed the literature and found a significant rise in the abundance of the parasite <em>Anisakis</em>, or "herring worm." This isn't especially concerning for humans, who experience the worm as a nasty bout of food poisoning that then resolves, but it could have serious consequences for marine mammals, who play host to the parasites for years.</p><p>"One of the important implications of this study is that now we know there is this massive, rising health risk to marine mammals," study coauthor and UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences assistant professor Chelsea Wood said in the UW press release. "It's not often considered that parasites might be the reason that some marine mammal populations are failing to bounce back. I hope this study encourages people to look at intestinal parasites as a potential cap on the population growth of endangered and threatened marine mammals."</p>
<div id="f87f9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="24416e58f4dc5112fd635f2dc87516cb"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1240735574232891400" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The next time you eat sashimi, nigiri or other forms of raw fish, consider doing a quick check for worms. 🍣😳
https://t.co/juL5dW2NDu</div> — UW SAFS (@UW SAFS)<a href="https://twitter.com/UW_SAFS/statuses/1240735574232891400">1584649387.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The researchers looked at a total of 123 papers published between 1967 and 2017 to assess how the abundance of two marine parasites had changed over time: <em>Anisakis </em>and another parasite known as <em>Pseudoterranova</em>, or "cod worm." <em>Anisakis </em>abundance rose 283-fold from 1978 to 2015, while <em>Pseudoterranova </em>abundance did not change. This means that Anisakis has risen from less than one for every 100 hosts caught to more than one in every host caught, <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/parasitic-worms-in-raw-seafood-have-increased-280-fold-but-it-s-not-sushi-we-should-be-worried-about" target="_blank">ScienceAlert explained</a>.</p><p>Ironically, while <em>Anisakis </em>might threaten the health of marine mammals, its rise may have been triggered by their success.</p><p>"My gut is that this is about the improvements we've made in marine mammal <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a>," Wood told ScienceAlert. "The time frame of our study directly overlaps with when a bunch of really important marine mammal legislation went into effect like the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972 and the international whaling commission moratorium on commercial whaling which came in the 1980s."</p>
<p>The one wrinkle in this theory is which mammals usually play host to the worm. <em>Anisakis</em> hatches in the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans" target="_self">ocean</a> and first infects small animals like shrimp, the UW explained. They then make their way up the food web as the shrimp are eaten by fish, who are eaten by bigger fish, until they end up in the intestines of Cetaceans like <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/whales" target="_self">whales</a> or <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/dolphins" target="_self">dolphins</a>. Here they can live and reproduce for years, reentering the ocean in the animals' feces to start the cycle again.</p><p>While <em>Anisakis</em> abundance has risen, <em>Pseudoterranova</em>, which typically infects fish, sea lions and seals, has not. However, seals and sea lions have done much better than whales, Wood told ScienceAlert, which means one would expect <em>Pseudoterranova </em>abundance to have increased instead. However, she speculated it was possible the parasite was actually increasing because it had fewer hosts to pass through.</p><p>Other factors that could have caused the rise include the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change" target="_self">climate crisis</a> and increased runoff from fertilizers, according to the press release.</p><p>So what happens if humans happen to ingest one of the worms? Nausea and vomiting that is unpleasant, but temporary.</p><p>"When they enter the intestine of a human, it's a great disappointment to the worm. They're not going to be able to complete their life cycle there," Wood told <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2237951-fish-used-for-sushi-now-carry-283-times-more-parasites-than-in-1980s/" target="_blank">New Scientist</a>.</p><p>Wood said that sushi lovers shouldn't worry, as chefs were expert de-wormers.</p><p>"I still eat sushi all the time," she told New Scientist.</p><p>However, if you are concerned, just cut your nigiri in half and look for worms yourself, she advised in the press release.</p>
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Dolphins leap out of the Indian Ocean near a fishing boat. Andrew TB Tan / Moment / Getty Images
Fishing operations in the Indian Ocean have decimated dolphin populations over the last 70 years, according to a new study published in the journal Endangered Species Research.
<p>The fishing operations that have had dolphins swept up as bycatch have meant that nearly 4 million dolphins have died since 1950 and the population of dolphins in the Indian Ocean has declined by nearly 80 percent, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/03/more-than-80-of-indian-ocean-dolphins-may-have-been-killed-by-commercial-fishing-study-finds" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>Those numbers just represent the dolphins killed directly as bycatch of drifting <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/gillnets">nets</a> that trail behind large fishing boats and do not represent the number of dolphins, porpoises or whales killed by floating ghost nets, harpoons, other types of tuna fishing or animals that are injured and succumb to their wounds later. That means the actual number of dolphins killed from commercial fishing may actually be much higher, according to the <a href="https://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2020/41/n041p039.pdf" target="_blank">study</a>.</p>
<p>Looking at driftnets, which account for just over one-third of Indian Ocean commercial fisheries, the researchers were able to calculate that the number of dolphins, porpoises, and whales killed directly each year as bycatch peaked at around 100,000 from 2004 to 2006. That number has come down slightly and is now around 85,000 cetaceans annually, according to the <a href="https://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2020/41/n041p039.pdf" target="_blank">study</a>.</p><p>Unfortunately, the authors do not believe the decline in bycatch is the result of improved practices, which are essentially unregulated. Instead, they believe it reflects the declining dolphin population, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/03/more-than-80-of-indian-ocean-dolphins-may-have-been-killed-by-commercial-fishing-study-finds" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>The study's lead author, Charles Anderson of the Manta Marine organization in the Maldives, estimated that the dolphin numbers had probably dropped to only 13 percent their pre-1980 levels, which is when large-scale tuna fishing in the Indian Ocean began, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/03/more-than-80-of-indian-ocean-dolphins-may-have-been-killed-by-commercial-fishing-study-finds" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>"Declining cetacean bycatch rates suggest that such levels of mortality are not sustainable," the <a href="https://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2020/41/n041p039.pdf" target="_blank">study</a> says. "Indeed, mean small cetacean abundance may currently be 13 percent of pre-fishery levels. None of these estimates are precise, but they do demonstrate the likely order of magnitude of the issue."</p>
<p>There are many limitations in obtaining the exact number of mammal deaths due to bycatch, one of the study's author's told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/03/more-than-80-of-indian-ocean-dolphins-may-have-been-killed-by-commercial-fishing-study-finds" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, especially considering that most dolphins caught up in driftnets were not registered and were likely tossed over the side of the boat. These types of nets also snare turtles, whales and sharks.</p><p>The researcher, Puti Liza Mustika, from James Cook University's College of Business, Law and Governance, clarified that most of the bycatch was dolphins and that there was some reliable data from observers on boats and from previous studies. However, as a researcher, some clearer numbers would be helpful.</p><p>"That bycatch number is alarming, but there are a lot of uncertainties because the datasets are insufficient," Mustika told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/03/more-than-80-of-indian-ocean-dolphins-may-have-been-killed-by-commercial-fishing-study-finds" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>Adding to an element of uncertainty is that Iran and Indonesia, the countries that run the two largest tuna operations in the Indian Ocean, have no system of reporting cetacean bycatch. Consequently, Iran's average annual bycatch of 214,262 tons of tuna likely kills more than 30,000 dolphins, porpoises and whales every year, according to the <a href="https://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2020/41/n041p039.pdf" target="_blank">study</a>, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/03/more-than-80-of-indian-ocean-dolphins-may-have-been-killed-by-commercial-fishing-study-finds" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.<br></p><p>"It's a painful death. Dolphins are clever, but because the net is very thin in the water, the dolphins' sonar misses them," said Mustika to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/03/more-than-80-of-indian-ocean-dolphins-may-have-been-killed-by-commercial-fishing-study-finds" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. She added that the impetus to solve the problem is on scientists and tech companies. "The solution has to be technology, as well as using fishing gears that are more sustainable. But banning these fishers is not a solution for developing countries."</p>The <a href="https://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2020/41/n041p039.pdf" target="_blank">study</a> concluded that oversight is needed, saying its findings showed "the need for much improved monitoring, mitigation and management."
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Government officials are offering an up to $20,000 reward for information that helps solve two brutal Florida dolphin murders.
<p>The first dolphin was discovered shot or stabbed late last week by biologists with the <a href="https://myfwc.com/" target="_blank">Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission</a> off of Naples, Florida, <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/" target="_blank">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries</a> <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/dolphins-stabbed-and-shot-florida-noaa-enforcement-seeks-tips" target="_blank">reported Tuesday</a>. The second was found within the same week by experts at the <a href="http://emeraldcoastwildliferefuge.org/" target="_blank">Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge</a>, who discovered the animal on Pensacola Beach with a bullet in its left side.</p><p>"[These are] some of the worst cases we have seen," Tracy Dunn, who leads the law enforcement team of NOAA's southeast division, told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/12/us/dolphins-shot-stabbed-florida.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p>
<p>The deaths bring the total for dolphins stranded in the southeastern U.S. up to at least 29 since 2002, according to NOAA. The dolphins appear to have been shot or stabbed with arrows or fishing spears. Four of these strandings occurred within the past year. This includes one dolphin who was found off Captiva Island, Florida in May 2019 with a fatal puncture wound in its head. The case remains unsolved, and authorities are also offering a separate reward for any information about that case.</p><p>The underlying problem is that people feed dolphins illegally, NOAA officials explained.</p><p>"When dolphins are fed, their behavior changes. They lose their natural wariness of people and boats," NOAA bottlenose dolphin <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> coordinator Stacey Horstman told The New York Times.</p><p>This means that when dolphins encounter boats, they adopt a begging position, Horstman further explained to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/two-dolphins-fatal-injuries-found-florida-coast-n1135911" target="_blank">NBC</a>. They either stick their heads out of the water with their mouths open or look up at the boats while on their sides. When they do this, they are only one to two feet from a boat. It is thought both of the dolphins killed last week were in a begging position when they died.</p><p>"The best advice is not to feed them, not to reach out to them. The seemingly innocent act of feeding dolphins can lead to harm and something like this," Horstman told The New York Times.</p><p>Bottlenose dolphins are not listed as an <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> in the U.S., but, because they swim close to shore, they are at risk from human activity such as development and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fishing" target="_self">fishing</a>.</p><p>They are also protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, NOAA explained, which means it is illegal to hunt, harass, kill or feed them, or to attempt to do so. Anyone caught violating the act can face criminal or civil penalties of up to $100,000 in fines or up to a year in jail.</p><p>NOAA is asking for anyone with information about the recent deaths to call its enforcement hotline at (800) 853-1964.</p><p>"It's very difficult to solve without the community coming forward," Dunn told The New York Times.</p>
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In this photo taken Oct. 26 vegetation is covered in oil after diesel spilled into the Karnaphuli River following a collision of two tankers at Padma jetty in Chittagong. The oil spread about 16 kilometers during high tides and low tides in the river, posing serious threat to the local biodiversity, especially the Ganges river dolphins breeding ground. STR / AFP / Getty Images
An oil spill in the endangered Ganges river dolphin breeding grounds located in southeast Bangladesh has been called a "major disaster" by environmentalists, reports Agence-France Presse (AFP).
<p><br/></p>
<div id="99227" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1FCOX31576661225"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1188719781408575488" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Ganges River dolphins are in crisis after a tanker carrying 1,200 tonnes of diesel collided with another ship on th… https://t.co/Z0hALyLWs4</div> — RiverDolphins (@RiverDolphins)<a href="https://twitter.com/RiverDolphins1/statuses/1188719781408575488">1572247855.0</a></blockquote></div><p>A tanker carrying 1,200 tonnes of diesel collided with another ship in the Karnaphuli river near Chittagong port last week, spreading 10 tonnes of diesel across 16 kilometers, port authority spokesman Omar Faruk told the publication. The Department of Energy issued a fine for polluting the environment, reported local media agency <a href="https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/nation/2019/10/27/diesel-spill-in-karnaphuli-lighter-vessel-fined-tk3-crore" target="_blank">Dhaka Tribune</a>. The <a href="https://maritimebulletin.net/2019/10/26/tanker-breached-in-collision-massive-oil-spill-chittagong/" target="_blank">Marine Bulletin</a> reports that as of Oct. 26 about eight tonnes have been collected.</p><p>Around 60 Ganges river dolphins (<em>Platanista gangetica gangetica</em>) use the area as a breeding ground and could inhale toxic petroleum vapors when surfacing to breathe. At least 20 dolphins in the last four years have died of unnatural causes including pollution in the river and in the adjacent Halda river, reports AFP.</p>
<p>The Ganges river dolphin is one of just three freshwater dolphins in the world and is unique to two river systems in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4235892/" target="_blank">2014 study</a> found that their population has dwindled dramatically since their 4,000 to 5,000 population in the 1980s. Today, the total population is around 2,000 individuals, <a href="https://www.iucn.org/content/ganges-river-dolphin-dire-straits#targetText=Dolphin%20hotspots%20must%20be%20protected,according%20to%20a%20recent%20study.&targetText=Estimates%20have%20put%20the%20total,River%20Dolphins%20at%20around%202%2C000." target="_blank">according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature</a>. Declared by the government of India as a National Aquatic Animal in 2009, the <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/ganges-river-dolphin" target="_blank">World Wildlife Fund</a> notes that the species is a key indication of ecosystem health but are largely endangered due to human activities.</p><p>Ganges river dolphin habitat is one of the most densely populated areas in the world and is used for fishing. Individuals are often caught as bycatch after becoming tangled in fishing nets used for shrimp and fish. They are also hunted for meat and oil, which is both used medicinally and to attract catfish for fisheries.</p><p>One of the biggest threats to the Ganges river dolphin is pollution. The <a href="http://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/endangered_species/cetaceans/about/river_dolphins/ganges_river_dolphin/#targetText=WWF's%20objective%20for%20freshwater%20cetaceans,and%20habitat%20degradation%20by%202012." target="_blank">WWF reports</a> that the essentially blind cetaceans have likely lost a majority of their eyesight due to pollution in their home waters.</p><p>"Pollution levels are a problem, and are expected to increase with the development of intensive modern industrial practices in the region," wrote the organization. "Compounds such as organochlorine and butyltin found in the tissues of Ganges River dolphins are a cause for concern about their potential effects on the subspecies."</p><p>In addition to oil spills, industrial and agricultural runoff seeps into their marine ecosystem with an annual input of more than 8,000 tonnes of pesticides and nearly 5.4 million tonnes of fertilizers that are used in their region, according to <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/ganges-river-dolphin" target="_blank">WWF</a>. A 2016 report outlined the threat from "unabated dumping of toxic industrial and household waste," reported the <a href="https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2016/10/14/karnaphuli-dire-straits" target="_blank">Dhaka Tribune</a> at the time.</p>
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Whales and Dolphins Found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch for the First Time
30 October 2019
Animals
Adult and infant sperm whales have been spotted in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Inf-Lite Teacher / CC BY-SA
By Chandra Salgado Kent
Scientific research doesn't usually mean being strapped in a harness by the open paratroop doors of a Vietnam-war-era Hercules plane. But that's the situation I found myself in several years ago, the result of which has just been published in the journal Marine Biodiversity.
<p>As part of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlIXcq2ijZQ" target="_blank">Ocean Cleanup's Aerial Expedition</a>, I was coordinating a visual survey team assessing the largest accumulation of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans" target="_self">ocean</a> plastic in the world: the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.</p><p>When the aircraft's doors opened in front of me over the Pacific Ocean for the first time, my heart jumped into my throat. Not because I was looking 400m straight down to the wild sea below as it passed at 260km per hour, but because of what I saw.<br></p><p>This was one of the most remote regions of the Pacific Ocean, and the amount of floating <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/plastics" target="_self">plastic</a> nets, ropes, containers and who-knows-what below was mind-boggling.</p><p>However, it wasn't just debris down there. For the first time, we found proof of <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12526-019-00952-0" target="_blank">whales and dolphins in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch</a>, which means it's highly likely they are eating or getting tangled in the huge amount of plastic in the area.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA0ODA4Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNTk4OTA3OH0.pWhKUDbLiGGlp5IY80LgBfTbrPpfzbEM_KyjYLhjt9Q/img.jpg?width=980" id="c5541" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1bdad49df02e4d1ee1b1ec84260b9ab8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
A passive garbage collector floating through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. EPA / THE OCEAN CLEANUP HANDOUT
<h2>The Great Pacific Garbage Patch</h2><p>The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is said to be the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world. It is located between Hawaii and California, where huge ocean currents meet to form the North Pacific subtropical gyre. An estimated <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5864935/" target="_blank">80,000 tonnes of plastic</a> are floating in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.</p><p>Our overall project was overseen and led by The Ocean Cleanup's founder Boyan Slat and then-chief scientist Julia Reisser. We conducted two visual survey flights, each taking an entire day to travel from San Francisco's Moffett Airfield, survey for around two hours, and travel home. Along with our visual observations, the aircraft was fitted with a range of sensors, including a short-wave infrared imager, a Lidar system (which uses the pulse from lasers to map objects on land or at sea), and a high-resolution camera.</p><p>Both visual and technical surveys found <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/whales">whales</a> and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/dolphins">dolphins</a>, including sperm and beaked whales and their young calves. This is the first direct evidence of whales and dolphins in the heart of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA0ODEyOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0OTEwMDE2OH0.kbqnIhpFv_pijC7B3NSv7BeAp0O5jc9pJEyDXHs5lyo/img.jpg?width=980" id="7bd0d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="38bcfe0f8d5795a62f64c2db1fad8b62" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Mating green turtles in a sea of plastics. Photo by Chandra P. Salgado Kent, author provided
<p>Plastics in the ocean are a growing problem for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life">marine life</a>. Many species can mistake plastics for food, consume them accidentally along with their prey or simply eat fish that have themselves eaten plastic.</p><p>Both beaked and sperm whales have been recently found with heavy plastic loads in their stomachs. In the Philippines, a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47608949" target="_blank">dying beaked whale</a> was found with 40kg of plastic in its stomach, and in Indonesia, a dead <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/s/sperm-whale/" target="_blank">sperm whale</a> washed ashore with 115 drinking cups, 25 plastic bags, plastic bottles, two flip-flops and more than 1,000 pieces of string in its stomach.</p>
<h2>The Danger of Ghost Nets</h2><p>The most common debris we were able to identify by eye was discarded or lost fishing nets, often called "ghost nets." Ghost nets can drift in the ocean for years, trapping animals and causing injuries, starvation and death.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA0ODE2MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNzE4MTUzNn0.qT6-2Rx29XhAonTqRkEztIJF8j4_MhoWpGg2KLLoviI/img.jpg?width=980" id="f3399" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="302929d69288d883de9e20814d81b922" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Crew sorts plastic debris collected from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch on a voyage in July 2019. EPA / THE OCEAN CLEANUP
<p>Whales and dolphins are often found snared in debris. Earlier this year, a young sperm whale almost died after spending three years <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/01/digit-sperm-whale-saved-from-rope-entanglement-ghost-net-fishing-gear-off-dominica/" target="_blank">tangled in a rope from a fishing net</a>.</p><p>During our observation we saw young calves with their mothers. Calves are especially vulnerable to becoming trapped. With the wide range of ocean plastics in the garbage patch, it is highly likely animals in the area ingest and become tangled in it.</p><p>It's believed the amount of plastics in the ocean could <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43477233" target="_blank">triple</a> over the next decade. It is clear the problem of plastic pollution has no political or geographic boundaries.<br></p><p>While plastics enter the sea from populated areas, global currents transport them across oceans. Plastics can kill animals, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969718346072?via%3Dihub%22%22" target="_blank">promote disease</a> and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322703874_Plastic_waste_associated_with_disease_on_coral_reefs" target="_blank">harm the environment, our food sources and people</a>.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA0ODE3MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NTY1MTk0MX0.07OVBm48NGsGwnV-2SFeLfH33Mure6eo5EQNJT1hhVk/img.jpg?width=980" id="ce154" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d14338c5891b46e87b34859640c4c212" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
A jellyfish entangled in plastic rubbish and ropes in the North Pacific Ocean. AAP Image / The Algalita Marine Research Foundation
<p>The most devastating effects fall on communities in poverty. New research shows the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-22939-w" target="_blank">rapidly growing</a>, posing a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12526-019-00952-0" target="_blank">greater threat to wildlife</a>. It reinforces the global movement to reduce, recycle and remove plastics from the environment.</p><p>But to really tackle this problem we need creative solutions at every level of society, from communities to industries to governments and international organizations.</p><p>To take one possibility, what if we invested in fast-growing, sustainably cultivated bamboo to replace millions of single-use plastics? It could be produced by the very countries most affected by this crisis: poorer and developing nations.</p>
<p>
<em>Chandra Salgado Kent is an associate professor at the School of Science, Edith Cowan University.</em>
</p><p>
<em>Disclosure statement: Chandra Salgado Kent does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond her academic appointment.</em>
</p><p>
<em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://theconversation.com/whales-and-dolphins-found-in-the-great-pacific-garbage-patch-for-the-first-time-122538" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
</p><script async="async" data-counter="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122538/count?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" id="theconversation_tracker_hook" src="https://theconversation.com/javascripts/lib/content_tracker_hook.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Related Articles Around the Web
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In a Sign of Cleanup Success, Dolphins Are Living and Giving Birth in the Potomac
08 October 2019
Animals
Bottlenose dolphin surfaces in the Potomac River Sept. 25. Parker Michels-Boyce / The Washington Post / Getty Images
Dolphins have returned to the Potomac River and are even giving birth there, The Smithsonian reported.
The body of water that George Washington once called "the nation's river" used to host dolphins in the 1800s, but it had gotten so heavily polluted by the 1960s that wildlife struggled to survive and President Lyndon Johnson called it a "national disgrace." Fifty years of cleanup efforts have paid off, however, and now more than 1,000 bottlenose dolphins have been counted in its waters.
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To Save Its Bottle Nose Dolphins, New Zealand Banned Swimming With Them Near Bay of Islands
28 August 2019
Oceans
Aerial view looking over the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. by wildestanimal / Moment / Getty Images
The New Zealand government has banned tourists from swimming with the beloved bottlenose dolphins off the Bay of Islands in the northernmost peninsula of the country's north island.
<p>The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/dolphins" rel="noopener noreferrer">dolphins</a> are essentially dying from too much frolicking with tourists and have been classified by New Zealand's Department of Conservation (DoC) as endangered. Heavy boat traffic has the dolphins spending too much time socializing with tourists rather than performing critical behaviors like eating, sleeping and nursing their young, according to <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/new-zealand-bottlenose-dolphin-swimming-ban-endangered-species-boats-a9081571.html" target="_blank">the Independent</a>. A recent study by the New Zealand DoC said that human interaction was "having a significant impact on the population's resting and feeding behavior."</p><p>The dolphins live in a sub-tropical area of New Zealand known for its stunning beaches and its warm water. The popularity of the area as a tourist destination has caused the dolphin population to plummet from 270 in 1999 to a current estimate of 31, a fall of almost 90 percent, as the <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/28/tourists-banned-swimming-famed-new-zealand-dolphins-threatened/" target="_blank">Telegraph</a> reported. </p><p>The numbers in the report are bleak. A group of only 19 bottlenose dolphins regularly visit the Bay of Islands. From that group, there is a 75 percent mortality rate among their calves. That is the highest mortality rate not only in New Zealand, but also internationally, in the wild and in captivity, according to the <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/28/tourists-banned-swimming-famed-new-zealand-dolphins-threatened/" target="_blank">Telegraph</a>.</p><p>The researchers also noted that the dolphins spent 86 percent of daylight hours near one boat. To change that trend, the DoC not only banned tourists from swimming with dolphins, but also mandated that tour boats may interact with dolphins for no more than 20 minutes. Also, all tour operators will have to visit the dolphins in either the morning or the afternoon so there is a significant chunk of time where the dolphins are left alone, as the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/28/new-zealand-bans-swimming-with-bottlenose-dolphins-after-numbers-plunge" target="_blank">Guardian</a> reported.</p>
<p>"The dolphins often swim towards boats themselves and you simply can't put a barrier around them or monitor every interaction they have," said Sue Reed-Thomas, the DOC's northern North Island director of operations, as the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/new-zealand-bottlenose-dolphin-swimming-ban-endangered-species-boats-a9081571.html" target="_blank">Independent</a> reported. "Everyone who puts a boat on the water in the Bay of Islands needs to be aware of the problem so they play their part in protecting the local dolphin population."</p>
<p>In a plea to save their industry, tour operators warned that the new ban would cripple tourism in the area. They also said that fewer tour operators on the water means fewer people monitoring how private boats interact with the vulnerable dolphin population, according to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/28/new-zealand-bans-swimming-with-bottlenose-dolphins-after-numbers-plunge" target="_blank">Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>The DoC does not seem too sympathetic as it is considering partnering with Maori tribes and researchers to start a marine mammal sanctuary in the Bay of Islands. </p>
<p>Tourists can still swim with dolphins in New Zealand's south island where the populations are much healthier, according to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/28/new-zealand-bans-swimming-with-bottlenose-dolphins-after-numbers-plunge" target="_blank">Guardian</a>.</p>
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An orca jumps out of the sea in Lund, British Columbia. Schaef1 / iStock / Getty Images Plus
By the end of June, it will be illegal to keep whales and dolphins in captivity in Canada, the Huffington Post reported Tuesday.
<p>The so-called "<a href="https://www.parl.ca/LegisInfo/BillDetails.aspx?Language=e&Mode=1&billId=8063284&View=5" target="_blank">Free Willy" bill</a> passed the Canadian House of Commons by an overwhelming majority Monday, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/canada-ban-free-willy-bill-makes-captivity-orcas-dolphins-cetaceans-illegal/" target="_blank">CBS News reported</a>. It now must pass through a process called "royal assent" in which either the governor general or their deputies sign off on the bill. It will make it illegal to keep cetaceans in captivity, breed them or import or export the intelligent marine mammals. Anyone who violates the law could face a fine of up to $150,000.</p><p>"Today is a really good day for animals in Canada," Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, who sponsored the bill in the House, said after it passed, according to the Huffington Post.</p>
<div id="87c54" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8PJC4X1576662239"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1138136694870482945" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#Breaking: When we work together, good things happen.
This is a combined effort from @ElizabethMay, Senators Moore… https://t.co/tRRHKB56ha</div> — Green Party Canada (@Green Party Canada)<a href="https://twitter.com/CanadianGreens/statuses/1138136694870482945">1560187908.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The bill was first introduced in the Senate in 2015 by Wilfred Moore, who retired in 2017 before he saw it passed. Moore said it was stalled by Conservative senators who used procedural tactics to keep it from advancing. It finally passed the Senate in October of 2018 after three years of debate, then cleared the House fisheries committee in April of this year, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/whales-1.5169138" target="_blank">CBC News reported</a>.</p><p>"Nothing fantastic ever happens in a hurry. But today we celebrate that we have ended the captivity and breeding of whales and dolphins. This is news to splash a fin at," <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/animal-rights" target="_self">animal rights</a> group <a href="https://www.humanecanada.ca/" target="_blank">Humane Canada</a> wrote in a tweet <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/10/americas/canada-whale-dolphin-bill-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank">reported by CNN</a>.</p>
<div id="14da8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9DU79B1576662239"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1138123963173933059" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Nothing fantastic ever happens in a hurry. But today we celebrate that we have ended the captivity and breeding of… https://t.co/XwekjkQ76m</div> — Humane Canada (@Humane Canada)<a href="https://twitter.com/HumaneCanada/statuses/1138123963173933059">1560184872.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>May said its passage was partly thanks to thousands of Canadians who wrote letters and emails in support of the measure. On two occasions, the Senate received so many emails that its servers crashed, Moore said, according to the Huffington Post.<br></p><p>"Canada is better for this," Moore said.</p><p>There are only two institutions left that keep whales and dolphins in captivity in Canada: the Vancouver Aquarium and Marineland, a Niagara Falls zoo and amusement park. The Vancouver Aquarium only has one dolphin left and announced in January it would no longer keep the marine mammals captive, CBC News reported. Marineland, on the other hand, owns around 61 cetaceans: 55 beluga whales, five bottlenose dolphins and one <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/orcas" target="_self">orca</a>. The park had argued the bill would threaten both its conservation efforts and its attendance, jeopardizing seasonal jobs.</p><p>When Conservative politicians stalled the bill in the Senate, May joked that the park had "managed to hold Conservative senators in captivity for a remarkably long time," the Huffington Post reported.</p><p>However, the bill is unlikely to impact the park in the near future, because it includes an exception allowing facilities that already have animals to keep them. Marineland has five young belugas who could therefore live in captivity for another 50 years, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/5376846/canada-whale-dolphin-captivity-ban-marineland/" target="_blank">Global News reported</a>.</p><p>"Marineland will continue to provide world-class care to all marine mammals that call Marineland home," Marineland said in a statement to Global News. "With our current mammal population, we will be able to operate decades into the future uninterrupted."</p><p>The bill also includes exceptions for rescue, rehabilitation and scientific research, CNN reported.</p><p>"A person may move a live cetacean from its immediate vicinity when the cetacean is injured or in distress and is in need of assistance," the bill reads, according to CNN.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Drones?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Drones</a> Capture Stunning Footage of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Humpback?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Humpback</a> and Gray <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Whales?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Whales</a> <a href="https://t.co/CFj5EDqhoQ">https://t.co/CFj5EDqhoQ</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/oceana?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@oceana</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ConservationOrg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ConservationOrg</a></p>— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) <a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/1061015658320855040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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The survival rates of Indo Pacific bottlenose dolphins like this one were reduced following a marine heat wave in Australia. Graeme Snow
Climate change could have a deadly impact on dolphins and other marine mammals.
<p>That's the saddening implication of a study published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(19)30217-9?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982219302179%3Fshowall%3Dtrue" target="_blank">Current Biology Monday</a>. Researchers looked at what happened when a marine <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/heat-wave" target="_self">heat wave</a> scorched waters off the coast of Western Australia in 2011. What they found was that the survival rate of dolphins in the area declined by 12 percent and that female dolphins gave birth to a smaller number of calves. The effects lasted up until 2017.</p>
<p>"The extent of the negative influence of the heat wave surprised us," lead study author and University of Leeds PhD student Sonja Wild in a statement reported by <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/04/01/dolphins-and-climate-change-warming-seas-threaten-marine-mammals/3331033002/" target="_blank">USA Today</a>. "It is particularly unusual that the reproductive success of females appears to have not returned to normal levels, even after six years."</p><p>The researchers had been studying dolphins in an area known as <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/578" target="_blank">Shark Bay</a>, a World Heritage Site home to Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins. The 2011 heat wave, which raised ocean temperatures in the area as much as four degrees Celsius above average, killed off seagrass and fish in the iconic bay, a <a href="http://bristol.ac.uk/news/2019/april/marine-conservation.html" target="_blank">University of Bristol press release explained</a>.</p><p>The researchers wanted to know if the seagrass die-off had impacted larger animals.</p>
<div id="85a79" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0OWVTN1568219083"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1112751238553182208" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Marine heatwave proves devastating to Shark Bay, Western #Australia.
#Dolphin survival and reproductive rates suf… https://t.co/01cZ4wZPpW</div> — Bristol University 🎓 (@Bristol University 🎓)<a href="https://twitter.com/BristolUni/statuses/1112751238553182208">1554135543.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"It was serendipity really. We have been working in that part of Shark Bay since 2007, now as part of a large study," study author and Department of Anthropology at the University of Zurich Director Michael Krützen told <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/01/world/warm-oceans-kill-dolphins-scn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN in an email</a>.</p><p>The researchers reviewed more than 5,000 dolphin encounters between 2007 and 2017 and found that the heat wave had indeed had a lasting impact, according to the press release. Researchers thought that the loss of food and habitat meant that fish in the area could not recover quickly. This forced dolphins to spend more time hunting, making them less aware. This in turn increased the chances that sharks would prey on calves. In addition, the researchers thought that the lack of nutrition might have made it harder for both mothers and young dolphins to get enough to eat, leading to more calf deaths.</p><p>For the researchers, the findings were yet another example of the threat climate change poses to the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans" target="_self">oceans</a>. A <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/marine-heatwaves-ocean-ecosystems-2630710689.html" target="_self">study published in March</a> for example, found that the number of ocean heat wave days per year had increased by 50 percent between 1987 and 2016 and that they had the same destructive impact on marine ecosystems as <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires" target="_self">wildfires</a> on land.</p><p>"Given that marine heatwaves are occurring more often in association with climate change this raises serious concerns over the long-term prospects for the dolphin population, commercial fisheries and the ecosystem as a whole," senior study author and senior research associate at Bristol's School of Biological Sciences Dr. Simon Allen said in the press release.</p><p>The one silver lining from the study was that dolphins that used sponges to hunt were not as impacted as those who did not, but the researchers did not know if that advantage would hold for an extended period of time, CNN reported.</p><p>"It seems that <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/extreme-weather" target="_self">extreme weather</a> events appear to threaten marine mammal populations in their existence. If we want to conserve these populations, we have to think how the frequency of such events can be kept at a minimum," Krützen told CNN.</p>
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