Occurrence of Microplastics in Harbour Seals ( Phoca vitulina ) and Grey Seals ( Halichoerus grypus ) from German Waters
The level of knowledge on microplastic exposure in marine mammals is limited by the access to dead and alive individuals. Focusing on the Northeast Atlantic area, some studies already confirmed the microplastic presence in free-ranging marine mammals, such as harbour porpoises or harbour seals inhab...
Published in: | Animals |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2022
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12050551 https://doaj.org/article/72094b0bb6624813867749519d4bb893 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:72094b0bb6624813867749519d4bb893 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:72094b0bb6624813867749519d4bb893 2023-05-15T17:41:29+02:00 Occurrence of Microplastics in Harbour Seals ( Phoca vitulina ) and Grey Seals ( Halichoerus grypus ) from German Waters Carolin Philipp Bianca Unger Ursula Siebert 2022-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12050551 https://doaj.org/article/72094b0bb6624813867749519d4bb893 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/5/551 https://doaj.org/toc/2076-2615 doi:10.3390/ani12050551 2076-2615 https://doaj.org/article/72094b0bb6624813867749519d4bb893 Animals, Vol 12, Iss 551, p 551 (2022) marine mammals Phocidae North Sea Baltic Sea gastrointestinal tract intestine Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12050551 2022-12-31T15:49:00Z The level of knowledge on microplastic exposure in marine mammals is limited by the access to dead and alive individuals. Focusing on the Northeast Atlantic area, some studies already confirmed the microplastic presence in free-ranging marine mammals, such as harbour porpoises or harbour seals inhabiting the North Sea (NS). In contrast, knowledge on the exposure to grey seals and particularly on specimen inhabiting the Baltic Sea (BS) are scarce. This study examined 63 gastrointestinal tracts (GIT) of harbour seals and grey seals originating from German waters (NS and BS) found between 2014 and 2019. Besides the documentation of microplastic findings, this study is dealing with life history and health parameters, attempting to identify correlations with microplastic presence. This study confirmed beside the presence, the egestion of microplastics (>100 µm; MPs) in the examined seals, without correlations in parasite infestations or inflammation responses. 540 suspected MPs were identified in 62 intestinal samples (42% fibres, 58% fragments), and 228 MPs in seven stomachs (28% fibres, 72% fragments). In accordance, first evidence of the retainment of fragments in the GIT were given. However, no significant difference in MP occurrence was indicated for different sex or age groups. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northeast Atlantic Phoca vitulina Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Animals 12 5 551 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
marine mammals Phocidae North Sea Baltic Sea gastrointestinal tract intestine Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 |
spellingShingle |
marine mammals Phocidae North Sea Baltic Sea gastrointestinal tract intestine Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 Carolin Philipp Bianca Unger Ursula Siebert Occurrence of Microplastics in Harbour Seals ( Phoca vitulina ) and Grey Seals ( Halichoerus grypus ) from German Waters |
topic_facet |
marine mammals Phocidae North Sea Baltic Sea gastrointestinal tract intestine Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 |
description |
The level of knowledge on microplastic exposure in marine mammals is limited by the access to dead and alive individuals. Focusing on the Northeast Atlantic area, some studies already confirmed the microplastic presence in free-ranging marine mammals, such as harbour porpoises or harbour seals inhabiting the North Sea (NS). In contrast, knowledge on the exposure to grey seals and particularly on specimen inhabiting the Baltic Sea (BS) are scarce. This study examined 63 gastrointestinal tracts (GIT) of harbour seals and grey seals originating from German waters (NS and BS) found between 2014 and 2019. Besides the documentation of microplastic findings, this study is dealing with life history and health parameters, attempting to identify correlations with microplastic presence. This study confirmed beside the presence, the egestion of microplastics (>100 µm; MPs) in the examined seals, without correlations in parasite infestations or inflammation responses. 540 suspected MPs were identified in 62 intestinal samples (42% fibres, 58% fragments), and 228 MPs in seven stomachs (28% fibres, 72% fragments). In accordance, first evidence of the retainment of fragments in the GIT were given. However, no significant difference in MP occurrence was indicated for different sex or age groups. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Carolin Philipp Bianca Unger Ursula Siebert |
author_facet |
Carolin Philipp Bianca Unger Ursula Siebert |
author_sort |
Carolin Philipp |
title |
Occurrence of Microplastics in Harbour Seals ( Phoca vitulina ) and Grey Seals ( Halichoerus grypus ) from German Waters |
title_short |
Occurrence of Microplastics in Harbour Seals ( Phoca vitulina ) and Grey Seals ( Halichoerus grypus ) from German Waters |
title_full |
Occurrence of Microplastics in Harbour Seals ( Phoca vitulina ) and Grey Seals ( Halichoerus grypus ) from German Waters |
title_fullStr |
Occurrence of Microplastics in Harbour Seals ( Phoca vitulina ) and Grey Seals ( Halichoerus grypus ) from German Waters |
title_full_unstemmed |
Occurrence of Microplastics in Harbour Seals ( Phoca vitulina ) and Grey Seals ( Halichoerus grypus ) from German Waters |
title_sort |
occurrence of microplastics in harbour seals ( phoca vitulina ) and grey seals ( halichoerus grypus ) from german waters |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12050551 https://doaj.org/article/72094b0bb6624813867749519d4bb893 |
genre |
Northeast Atlantic Phoca vitulina |
genre_facet |
Northeast Atlantic Phoca vitulina |
op_source |
Animals, Vol 12, Iss 551, p 551 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/5/551 https://doaj.org/toc/2076-2615 doi:10.3390/ani12050551 2076-2615 https://doaj.org/article/72094b0bb6624813867749519d4bb893 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12050551 |
container_title |
Animals |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
551 |
_version_ |
1766143059682131968 |