Blast injury on harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from the Baltic Sea after explosions of deposits of World War II ammunition
Harbour porpoises are under pressure from increasing human activities. This includes the detonation of ammunition that was dumped in large amounts into the sea during and after World War II. In this context, forty-two British ground mines from World War II were cleared by means of blasting in the pe...
Published in: | Environment International |
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Elsevier
2022
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.107014 https://doaj.org/article/e7afb0e97fee4269bd6637bb162c3b27 |
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:e7afb0e97fee4269bd6637bb162c3b27 2023-05-15T16:33:29+02:00 Blast injury on harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from the Baltic Sea after explosions of deposits of World War II ammunition Ursula Siebert Julian Stürznickel Tobias Schaffeld Ralf Oheim Tim Rolvien Ellen Prenger-Berninghoff Peter Wohlsein Jan Lakemeyer Simon Rohner Luca Aroha Schick Stephanie Gross Dominik Nachtsheim Christa Ewers Paul Becher Michael Amling Maria Morell 2022-01-01 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.107014 https://doaj.org/article/e7afb0e97fee4269bd6637bb162c3b27 en eng Elsevier 0160-4120 doi:10.1016/j.envint.2021.107014 https://doaj.org/article/e7afb0e97fee4269bd6637bb162c3b27 undefined Environment International, Vol 159, Iss , Pp 107014- (2022) Marine mammals Blast injury Acoustic trauma Ammunition Explosions Health effects envir geo Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2022 fttriple https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.107014 2023-01-22T17:51:45Z Harbour porpoises are under pressure from increasing human activities. This includes the detonation of ammunition that was dumped in large amounts into the sea during and after World War II. In this context, forty-two British ground mines from World War II were cleared by means of blasting in the period from 28 to 31 August 2019 by a NATO unit in the German Exclusive Economic Zone within the marine protected area of Fehmarn Belt in the Baltic Sea, Germany. Between September and November 2019, 24 harbour porpoises were found dead in the period after those clearing events along the coastline of the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein and were investigated for direct and indirect effects of blast injury. Health evaluations were conducted including examinations of the brain, the air-filled (lungs and gastrointestinal tract) and acoustic organs (melon, acoustic fat in the lower jaw, ears and their surrounding tissues). The bone structure of the tympano-periotic complexes was examined using high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT). In 8/24 harbour porpoises, microfractures of the malleus, dislocation of middle ear bones, bleeding, and haemorrhages in the melon, lower jaw and peribullar acoustic fat were detected, suggesting blast injury. In addition, one bycaught animal and another porpoise with signs of blunt force trauma also showed evidence of blast injury. The cause of death of the other 14 animals varied and remained unclear in two individuals. Due to the vulnerability and the conservation status of harbour porpoise populations in the Baltic Sea, noise mitigation measures must be improved to prevent any risk of injury. The data presented here highlight the importance of systematic investigations into the acute and chronic effects of blast and acoustic trauma in harbour porpoises, improving the understanding of underwater noise effects and herewith develop effective measures to protect the population level. Article in Journal/Newspaper Harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena Unknown Environment International 159 107014 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Unknown |
op_collection_id |
fttriple |
language |
English |
topic |
Marine mammals Blast injury Acoustic trauma Ammunition Explosions Health effects envir geo |
spellingShingle |
Marine mammals Blast injury Acoustic trauma Ammunition Explosions Health effects envir geo Ursula Siebert Julian Stürznickel Tobias Schaffeld Ralf Oheim Tim Rolvien Ellen Prenger-Berninghoff Peter Wohlsein Jan Lakemeyer Simon Rohner Luca Aroha Schick Stephanie Gross Dominik Nachtsheim Christa Ewers Paul Becher Michael Amling Maria Morell Blast injury on harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from the Baltic Sea after explosions of deposits of World War II ammunition |
topic_facet |
Marine mammals Blast injury Acoustic trauma Ammunition Explosions Health effects envir geo |
description |
Harbour porpoises are under pressure from increasing human activities. This includes the detonation of ammunition that was dumped in large amounts into the sea during and after World War II. In this context, forty-two British ground mines from World War II were cleared by means of blasting in the period from 28 to 31 August 2019 by a NATO unit in the German Exclusive Economic Zone within the marine protected area of Fehmarn Belt in the Baltic Sea, Germany. Between September and November 2019, 24 harbour porpoises were found dead in the period after those clearing events along the coastline of the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein and were investigated for direct and indirect effects of blast injury. Health evaluations were conducted including examinations of the brain, the air-filled (lungs and gastrointestinal tract) and acoustic organs (melon, acoustic fat in the lower jaw, ears and their surrounding tissues). The bone structure of the tympano-periotic complexes was examined using high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT). In 8/24 harbour porpoises, microfractures of the malleus, dislocation of middle ear bones, bleeding, and haemorrhages in the melon, lower jaw and peribullar acoustic fat were detected, suggesting blast injury. In addition, one bycaught animal and another porpoise with signs of blunt force trauma also showed evidence of blast injury. The cause of death of the other 14 animals varied and remained unclear in two individuals. Due to the vulnerability and the conservation status of harbour porpoise populations in the Baltic Sea, noise mitigation measures must be improved to prevent any risk of injury. The data presented here highlight the importance of systematic investigations into the acute and chronic effects of blast and acoustic trauma in harbour porpoises, improving the understanding of underwater noise effects and herewith develop effective measures to protect the population level. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ursula Siebert Julian Stürznickel Tobias Schaffeld Ralf Oheim Tim Rolvien Ellen Prenger-Berninghoff Peter Wohlsein Jan Lakemeyer Simon Rohner Luca Aroha Schick Stephanie Gross Dominik Nachtsheim Christa Ewers Paul Becher Michael Amling Maria Morell |
author_facet |
Ursula Siebert Julian Stürznickel Tobias Schaffeld Ralf Oheim Tim Rolvien Ellen Prenger-Berninghoff Peter Wohlsein Jan Lakemeyer Simon Rohner Luca Aroha Schick Stephanie Gross Dominik Nachtsheim Christa Ewers Paul Becher Michael Amling Maria Morell |
author_sort |
Ursula Siebert |
title |
Blast injury on harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from the Baltic Sea after explosions of deposits of World War II ammunition |
title_short |
Blast injury on harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from the Baltic Sea after explosions of deposits of World War II ammunition |
title_full |
Blast injury on harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from the Baltic Sea after explosions of deposits of World War II ammunition |
title_fullStr |
Blast injury on harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from the Baltic Sea after explosions of deposits of World War II ammunition |
title_full_unstemmed |
Blast injury on harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from the Baltic Sea after explosions of deposits of World War II ammunition |
title_sort |
blast injury on harbour porpoises (phocoena phocoena) from the baltic sea after explosions of deposits of world war ii ammunition |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.107014 https://doaj.org/article/e7afb0e97fee4269bd6637bb162c3b27 |
genre |
Harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena |
genre_facet |
Harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena |
op_source |
Environment International, Vol 159, Iss , Pp 107014- (2022) |
op_relation |
0160-4120 doi:10.1016/j.envint.2021.107014 https://doaj.org/article/e7afb0e97fee4269bd6637bb162c3b27 |
op_rights |
undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.107014 |
container_title |
Environment International |
container_volume |
159 |
container_start_page |
107014 |
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1766023172494196736 |