First record of plastic debris ingestion by a fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) in the sea off East Asia

Im, Jibin; Joo, Soobin; Lee, Young-Ran; Kim, Byung-Yeob; Kim, Tae−Won

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111514

Cited by 23 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Currently, only a few studies on marine litter impact on fin whales have been published. Two papers report ingestion in individuals from North Atlantic water (Lusher et al, 2018) and from the sea off East Asia (Im et al, 2020).…”

Section: Fin Whales: a Ocean Health Indicator Of Micro-litter Impact mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cetaceans as Ocean Health Indicators of Marine Litter Impact at Global Scale

Fossi

Baini

Simmonds

2020

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Marine litter is a growing concern for marine animals, including cetaceans for which there is a developing body of evidence showing impacts of both entanglement and ingestion. Better understanding is needed of the current and predicted scales of impacts on cetacean species of both macro- and micro-litter. Some emerging methodological approaches, such as the “threefold approach,” will help address data gaps. The relationship between this form of pollution and some cetaceans is strong and the particular feeding habits, and widespread distribution of two whale species means that they can be proposed as ocean health indicators for macro- and micro-litter impacts at global scales, helping steer research. The species concerned are sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), for macro-litter at depth, and fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), for micro-debris. Once appropriate techniques have been fully developed for non-lethal assessment, other whale species might also be used as indicators of litter pollution in their specific feeding zones.

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Section: Fin Whales: a Ocean Health Indicator Of Micro-litter Impact mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cetaceans as Ocean Health Indicators of Marine Litter Impact at Global Scale

Fossi

Baini

Simmonds

2020

Front. Environ. Sci.

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“…Increasingly, aquatic organisms have been documented to actively and passively interact with and ingest plastic. − Because of its variable appearance, the burnt plastic may resemble different types of prey and be ingested and translocated, differently affecting how wildlife interact with the plastic. , Adding to this, the quantity of smaller burnt pieces could increase due to the plastic’s brittleness, creating a fraction of plastic of reduced size that could be more harmful in some cases or egested more efficiently in other cases. , Moreover, during the fire, the plastic was exposed to carcinogenic combustion products and developed additive degradation products as revealed by GC×GC analysis, potentiating the burnt plastic as a vector with unknown bioavailability for carcinogenic PAHs and other pollutants. − Collectively, these features differentiate this spill from past nurdle spills and warrant investigation of how the toxicity varies along the burnt nurdle continuum.…”

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confidence: 99%

The M/V X-Press Pearl Nurdle Spill: Contamination of Burnt Plastic and Unburnt Nurdles along Sri Lanka’s Beaches

et al. 2021

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In May 2021, the M/V X-Press Pearl cargo ship caught fire 18 km off the west coast of Sri Lanka and spilled ∼1680 tons of spherical pieces of plastic or "nurdles" (∼5 mm; white in color). Nurdles are the preproduction plastic used to manufacture a wide range of end products. Exposure to combustion, heat, and chemicals led to agglomeration, fragmentation, charring, and chemical modification of the plastic, creating an unprecedented complex spill of visibly burnt plastic and unburnt nurdles. These pieces span a continuum of colors, shapes, sizes, and densities with high variability that could impact cleanup efforts, alter transport in the ocean, and potentially affect wildlife. Visibly burnt plastic was 3-fold more chemically complex than visibly unburnt nurdles. This added chemical complexity included combustion-derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. A portion of the burnt material contained petroleum-derived biomarkers, indicating that it encountered some fossil-fuel products during the spill. The findings of this research highlight the added complexity caused by the fire and subsequent burning of plastic for cleanup operations, monitoring, and damage assessment and provides recommendations to further understand and combat the impacts of this and future spills.

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“…Perhaps a larger concern is the potential introduction of more plastic and e-waste to the ocean [106,107], which stems from the proposed application of biohybrid robotic jellyfish as ocean monitoring tools. Possible issues include other aquatic wildlife ingesting the microelectronic components, which might cause bodily harm, as was reported in prior incidents of plastic ingestion in fin whales [108] and amphipods [109]. This requires investigation into using more environmentally friendly materials, such as biodegradable electronics [110][111][112] and plastic films [113].…”

Section: Microplastics and E-waste Pollution In The Oceanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethics of Biohybrid Robotic Jellyfish Modification and Invertebrate Research

Xu¹,

Lenczewska²,

Wieten³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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The ethics of invertebrate research have largely been ignored compared to the consideration of higher order animals, but more recent focus has questioned this trend. Using biohybrid robotic jellyfish as a case study, we examine the ethical considerations of invertebrate work and provide recommendations for future guidelines. This paper starts with an overview of philosophical views of animal ethics, the current state of knowledge for invertebrate pain and nociception, and current ethical guidelines. Next, we delve into the case study and analogous precedents. Specifically, in prior studies, we developed biohybrid robotic jellyfish, which modified live moon jellyfish with microelectronic swim controllers for future applications in ocean monitoring. Although jellyfish possess no central nervous system, pain receptors, or nociceptors, we closely monitored their stress responses, using the precautionary and minimization principles in consideration of the 4Rs: reduction, replacement, refinement, and reproducibility. We also discuss ethical considerations related to our studies and suggest that public opinion of invertebrate research relies heavily on repugnance, including fears of ‘playing God’ or limiting the ‘free will’ of animals. These issues are also examined for prior bioethics cases, such as the RoboRoach, cyborg beetle, ‘microslavery’ of microbes, biohybrid robots incorporating tissues from sea slugs (which are known to possess nociceptors), and other tissue cutting experiments involving soft-bodied invertebrates. However, biohybrid robotic jellyfish pose further ethical questions of potential ecological consequences as ocean monitoring tools, such as the impact of electronic waste in the ocean. To conclude these evaluations, we recommend that publishers require brief ethical statements for invertebrate research, which can include the following: a scientific justification for the research, discussion of the 4Rs, and cost-benefit analysis. We also delineate the need for more research on pain and nociception in invertebrates, which can then be used to revise or validate current research standards. These actions provide a stronger basis for the ethical study of invertebrate species, with implications for individual, species-wide, and ecological impacts on animals, as well as for interdisciplinary studies in science, engineering, and philosophy.

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First record of plastic debris ingestion by a fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) in the sea off East Asia

Cited by 23 publications

References 22 publications

Cetaceans as Ocean Health Indicators of Marine Litter Impact at Global Scale

Cetaceans as Ocean Health Indicators of Marine Litter Impact at Global Scale

The M/V X-Press Pearl Nurdle Spill: Contamination of Burnt Plastic and Unburnt Nurdles along Sri Lanka’s Beaches

Ethics of Biohybrid Robotic Jellyfish Modification and Invertebrate Research

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