Microplastic in a macro filter feeder: Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae

E Besseling; E M Foekema; J A Van Franeker; M F Leopold; S Kühn; E L Bravo Rebolledo; E Heße; L Mielke; J IJzer; P Kamminga; A A Koelmans

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.04.007

Microplastic in a macro filter feeder: Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae

Mar Pollut Bull. 2015 Jun 15;95(1):248-52. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.04.007. Epub 2015 Apr 24.

Authors

E Besseling¹, E M Foekema², J A Van Franeker², M F Leopold², S Kühn², E L Bravo Rebolledo², E Heße², L Mielke², J IJzer³, P Kamminga⁴, A A Koelmans⁵

Affiliations

¹ Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands; IMARES - Institute for Marine Resources & Ecosystem Studies, Wageningen UR, P.O. Box 68, 1970 AB IJmuiden, The Netherlands. Electronic address: ellen.besseling@wur.nl.
² IMARES - Institute for Marine Resources & Ecosystem Studies, Wageningen UR, P.O. Box 68, 1970 AB IJmuiden, The Netherlands.
³ Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Pathobiology, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80158, 3508 TD Utrecht, The Netherlands.
⁴ Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.
⁵ Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands; IMARES - Institute for Marine Resources & Ecosystem Studies, Wageningen UR, P.O. Box 68, 1970 AB IJmuiden, The Netherlands.

PMID: 25916197
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.04.007

Abstract

Marine filter feeders are exposed to microplastic because of their selection of small particles as food source. Baleen whales feed by filtering small particles from large water volumes. Macroplastic was found in baleen whales before. This study is the first to show the presence of microplastic in intestines of a baleen whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). Contents of its gastrointestinal tract were sieved, dissolved in 10% potassium hydroxide and washed. From the remaining dried material, potential synthetic polymer particles were selected based on density and appearance, and analysed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Several polymer types (polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinylchloride, polyethylene terephthalate, nylon) were found, in varying particle shapes: sheets, fragments and threads with a size of 1mm to 17cm. This diversity in polymer types and particle shapes, can be interpreted as a representation of the varying characteristics of marine plastic and the unselective way of ingestion by M. novaeangliae.

Keywords: Filter feeders; Humpback whale; Ingestion; Microplastic.

MeSH terms

Animals
Cetacea
Environmental Monitoring*
Gastrointestinal Contents*
Humpback Whale*
Plastics / analysis*
Water Pollutants / analysis*

Substances

Plastics
Water Pollutants