In fact, bubble bursts caused by wave energy can be released 100,000 metric tons microplastics into the atmosphere every year. Because dolphins and other marine mammals breathe at the water’s surface, they may be particularly vulnerable to exposure.
Wherever there are more people, that’s where it is usually more plastic. However, for minuscule airborne plastic particles, this connection is not always true. Airborne microplastics are not constrained to densely populated areas; They pollute undeveloped regions too.
Our research has shown the presence of microplastics in the breath of dolphins living in both urban and rural areas estuariesbut we do not know whether there are huge differences in the amount or type of plastic particles between the two habitats.
How we do our job
Breath samples for our study were collected from wild bottlenose dolphins during a catch-and-release health assessment conducted in collaboration with Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo, Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, National Marine Mammal FoundationAND Oceanographic Foundation.
During these tiny, permitted health assessments, we held a petri dish or an adapted one spirometer— a device that measures lung function — located above the dolphin’s blowhole to collect samples of the animals’ exhaled air. Using a microscope in our friend’s laboratorywe checked it for petite particles that look like plastic, such as pieces with a glossy surface, airy colors or fibrous shapes.
Since plastic melts when heated, we used a soldering needle to check whether these suspicious pieces were plastic. To confirm that they were indeed plastic, our friend used a specialized method called Raman spectroscopywhich uses a laser to create a structural fingerprint that can be matched to a specific chemical.
Our study highlights how widespread plastic pollution is and how vulnerable other living creatures, including dolphins, are to it. Although the impact of inhaling plastic on dolphins’ lungs is not yet known, humans can aid solve the problem of microplastic pollution by limiting its utilize and working to prevent further plastic pollution of our oceans.