BIOMAT Database Logo BIOMAT Database Logo

Microplastic in a macro filter feeder: Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae. 2015

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

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.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D010969 Plastics Polymeric materials (usually organic) of large molecular weight which can be shaped by flow. Plastic usually refers to the final product with fillers, plasticizers, pigments, and stabilizers included (versus the resin, the homogeneous polymeric starting material). (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed) Plastic
D002591 Cetacea An order of wholly aquatic MAMMALS occurring in all the OCEANS and adjoining seas of the world, as well as in certain river systems. They feed generally on FISHES, cephalopods, and crustaceans. Most are gregarious and most have a relatively long period of parental care and maturation. Included are DOLPHINS; PORPOISES; and WHALES. (From Walker's Mammals of the World, 5th ed, pp969-70) Cetaceas
D004784 Environmental Monitoring The monitoring of the level of toxins, chemical pollutants, microbial contaminants, or other harmful substances in the environment (soil, air, and water), workplace, or in the bodies of people and animals present in that environment. Monitoring, Environmental,Environmental Surveillance,Surveillance, Environmental
D005766 Gastrointestinal Contents The contents included in all or any segment of the GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT. Digestive Tract Contents,Intestinal Contents,Stomach Contents,GI Contents,Digestive Tract Content,GI Content,Gastrointestinal Content,Intestinal Content,Stomach Content
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D014873 Water Pollutants Substances or organisms which pollute the water or bodies of water. Use for water pollutants in general or those for which there is no specific heading. Water Pollutant,Pollutant, Water,Pollutants, Water
D050640 Humpback Whale The species Megaptera novaeangliae, in the family Balaenopteridae, characterized by its huge flippers and the arching of their back when diving. They are also known for their breaching and singing. Megaptera novaeangliae,Humpback Whales,Whale, Humpback,Whales, Humpback

Related Publications

E Besseling, and E M Foekema, and J A Van Franeker, and M F Leopold, and S Kühn, and E L Bravo Rebolledo, and E Heße, and L Mielke, and J IJzer, and P Kamminga, and A A Koelmans
Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) sonar: Ten predictions.
February 2020, Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983),
E Besseling, and E M Foekema, and J A Van Franeker, and M F Leopold, and S Kühn, and E L Bravo Rebolledo, and E Heße, and L Mielke, and J IJzer, and P Kamminga, and A A Koelmans
[Brain lipoma in the humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae].
January 1966, Pathologia veterinaria,
E Besseling, and E M Foekema, and J A Van Franeker, and M F Leopold, and S Kühn, and E L Bravo Rebolledo, and E Heße, and L Mielke, and J IJzer, and P Kamminga, and A A Koelmans
Prenatal cranial ossification of the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).
May 2015, Journal of morphology,
E Besseling, and E M Foekema, and J A Van Franeker, and M F Leopold, and S Kühn, and E L Bravo Rebolledo, and E Heße, and L Mielke, and J IJzer, and P Kamminga, and A A Koelmans
Spondylitis in a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) from the southeast Pacific.
May 2007, Diseases of aquatic organisms,
E Besseling, and E M Foekema, and J A Van Franeker, and M F Leopold, and S Kühn, and E L Bravo Rebolledo, and E Heße, and L Mielke, and J IJzer, and P Kamminga, and A A Koelmans
Morphology of the eyeball from the Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).
May 2014, Microscopy research and technique,
E Besseling, and E M Foekema, and J A Van Franeker, and M F Leopold, and S Kühn, and E L Bravo Rebolledo, and E Heße, and L Mielke, and J IJzer, and P Kamminga, and A A Koelmans
Vocalizations produced by humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) calves recorded in Hawaii.
March 2008, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America,
E Besseling, and E M Foekema, and J A Van Franeker, and M F Leopold, and S Kühn, and E L Bravo Rebolledo, and E Heße, and L Mielke, and J IJzer, and P Kamminga, and A A Koelmans
Evidence for a sex-segregated migration in the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).
February 1995, Proceedings. Biological sciences,
E Besseling, and E M Foekema, and J A Van Franeker, and M F Leopold, and S Kühn, and E L Bravo Rebolledo, and E Heße, and L Mielke, and J IJzer, and P Kamminga, and A A Koelmans
Common humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) sound types for passive acoustic monitoring.
January 2011, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America,
E Besseling, and E M Foekema, and J A Van Franeker, and M F Leopold, and S Kühn, and E L Bravo Rebolledo, and E Heße, and L Mielke, and J IJzer, and P Kamminga, and A A Koelmans
Case studies on longitudinal mercury content in humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) baleen.
January 2022, Heliyon,
E Besseling, and E M Foekema, and J A Van Franeker, and M F Leopold, and S Kühn, and E L Bravo Rebolledo, and E Heße, and L Mielke, and J IJzer, and P Kamminga, and A A Koelmans
Variation in the tyrosinase gene associated with a white humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).
January 2012, The Journal of heredity,
Copied contents to your clipboard!