Cetacean sightings within the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Here, we report cetacean sightings made within a major oceanic accumulation zone for plastics, often referred to as the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ (GPGP). These cetacean records occurred in October 2016 and were made by sensors and trained observers aboard a Hercules C-130 aircraft surveying the...
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ftedithcowan:oai:ro.ecu.edu.au:ecuworkspost2013-7568 2023-05-15T15:37:09+02:00 Cetacean sightings within the Great Pacific Garbage Patch Gibbs, Susan E. Salgado Kent, Chandra P. Slat, Boyan Morales, Damien Fouda, Leila Reisser, Julia 2019-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworkspost2013/6563 https://ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7568&context=ecuworkspost2013 unknown Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworkspost2013/6563 https://ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7568&context=ecuworkspost2013 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC-BY Research outputs 2014 to 2021 Marine debris Marine mammals Plastic pollution Aerial survey Life Sciences text 2019 ftedithcowan 2022-11-19T23:45:45Z Here, we report cetacean sightings made within a major oceanic accumulation zone for plastics, often referred to as the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ (GPGP). These cetacean records occurred in October 2016 and were made by sensors and trained observers aboard a Hercules C-130 aircraft surveying the GPGP at 400 m height and 140 knots speed. Four sperm whales (including a mother and calf pair), three beaked whales, two baleen whales, and at least five other cetaceans were observed. Many surface drifting plastics were also detected, including fishing nets, ropes, floats and fragmented debris. Some of these objects were close to the sighted mammals, posing entanglement and ingestion risks to animals using the GPGP as a migration corridor or core habitat. Our study demonstrates the potential exposure of several cetacean species to the high levels of plastic pollution in the area. Further research is required to evaluate the potential effects of the GPGP on marine mammal populations inhabiting the North Pacific. Text baleen whales Edith Cowan University (ECU, Australia): Research Online Pacific Hercules ENVELOPE(161.450,161.450,-77.483,-77.483) |
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collection |
Edith Cowan University (ECU, Australia): Research Online |
op_collection_id |
ftedithcowan |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Marine debris Marine mammals Plastic pollution Aerial survey Life Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Marine debris Marine mammals Plastic pollution Aerial survey Life Sciences Gibbs, Susan E. Salgado Kent, Chandra P. Slat, Boyan Morales, Damien Fouda, Leila Reisser, Julia Cetacean sightings within the Great Pacific Garbage Patch |
topic_facet |
Marine debris Marine mammals Plastic pollution Aerial survey Life Sciences |
description |
Here, we report cetacean sightings made within a major oceanic accumulation zone for plastics, often referred to as the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ (GPGP). These cetacean records occurred in October 2016 and were made by sensors and trained observers aboard a Hercules C-130 aircraft surveying the GPGP at 400 m height and 140 knots speed. Four sperm whales (including a mother and calf pair), three beaked whales, two baleen whales, and at least five other cetaceans were observed. Many surface drifting plastics were also detected, including fishing nets, ropes, floats and fragmented debris. Some of these objects were close to the sighted mammals, posing entanglement and ingestion risks to animals using the GPGP as a migration corridor or core habitat. Our study demonstrates the potential exposure of several cetacean species to the high levels of plastic pollution in the area. Further research is required to evaluate the potential effects of the GPGP on marine mammal populations inhabiting the North Pacific. |
format |
Text |
author |
Gibbs, Susan E. Salgado Kent, Chandra P. Slat, Boyan Morales, Damien Fouda, Leila Reisser, Julia |
author_facet |
Gibbs, Susan E. Salgado Kent, Chandra P. Slat, Boyan Morales, Damien Fouda, Leila Reisser, Julia |
author_sort |
Gibbs, Susan E. |
title |
Cetacean sightings within the Great Pacific Garbage Patch |
title_short |
Cetacean sightings within the Great Pacific Garbage Patch |
title_full |
Cetacean sightings within the Great Pacific Garbage Patch |
title_fullStr |
Cetacean sightings within the Great Pacific Garbage Patch |
title_full_unstemmed |
Cetacean sightings within the Great Pacific Garbage Patch |
title_sort |
cetacean sightings within the great pacific garbage patch |
publisher |
Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworkspost2013/6563 https://ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7568&context=ecuworkspost2013 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(161.450,161.450,-77.483,-77.483) |
geographic |
Pacific Hercules |
geographic_facet |
Pacific Hercules |
genre |
baleen whales |
genre_facet |
baleen whales |
op_source |
Research outputs 2014 to 2021 |
op_relation |
https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworkspost2013/6563 https://ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7568&context=ecuworkspost2013 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
_version_ |
1766367608070733824 |