1
|
Kelly NE, Feyrer L, Gavel H, Trela O, Ledwell W, Breeze H, Marotte EC, McConney L, Whitehead H. Long term trends in floating plastic pollution within a marine protected area identifies threats for Endangered northern bottlenose whales. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 227:115686. [PMID: 36931376 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.115686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
"The Gully", situated off Nova Scotia, Canada, is the largest submarine canyon in the western North Atlantic. This unique oceanographic feature, which became a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in 2004, is rich in marine biodiversity and is part of the critical habitat of Endangered northern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus). To understand the potential impact of plastic pollution in the MPA and on this Endangered cetacean, we evaluated trends over time in the abundance and composition of plastics and compared these to the stomach contents of recently stranded northern bottlenose whales. From the 1990s-2010s, the median abundance of micro-sized (<5 mm) and small plastics (5 mm-2.5 cm) increased significantly, while the median abundance of large plastics (>2.5 cm) decreased significantly. Plastic abundance from the 2010s for micro-sized and small plastics varied from 5586-438 196 particles km-2, higher than previously measured estimates for surrounding offshore areas. Polymers identified using FTIR spectroscopy included polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate polyester, nylon, alkyds (paint), and natural and semi-synthetic cellulosic fibers. The abundance of large debris ranged from 0 to 108.6 items km-2 and consisted of plastic sheets and bags, food wrappers and containers, rope, fishing buoys, and small plastic fragments. Whale stomach contents contained fragments of fishing nets, ropes, bottle caps, cups, food wrappers, smaller plastic fragments, fibers, and paint flakes, consistent with the composition and character of items collected from their critical habitat. Despite being far from centres of human population, the unique oceanographic features of The Gully (i.e. currents and bathymetric complexity) may concentrate plastic debris, increasing exposure rates of whales to plastic pollution. The increase in micro-sized and small plastics over time suggests associated health and welfare impacts of ingested plastics should be accounted for in future recovery plans for this Endangered species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Noreen E Kelly
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.
| | - Laura Feyrer
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada; Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Heidi Gavel
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada; St. Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Olga Trela
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Wayne Ledwell
- Newfoundland and Labrador Whale Release and Strandings, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Heather Breeze
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Emmaline C Marotte
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Leah McConney
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | | |
Collapse
|
2
|
Abreo NAS, Aurelio RM, Kobayashi VB, Thompson KF. 'Eye in the sky': Off-the-shelf unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) highlights exposure of marine turtles to floating litter (FML) in nearshore waters of Mayo Bay, Philippines. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2023; 186:114489. [PMID: 36549238 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Litter is a serious threat to the marine environment, with detrimental effects on wildlife and marine biodiversity. Limited data as a result of funding and logistical challenges in developing countries hamper our understanding of the problem. Here, we employed commercial unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as a cost-effective tool to study the exposure of marine turtles to floating marine litter (FML) in waters of Mayo Bay, Philippines. A quadcopter UAV was flown autonomously with on-board camera capturing videos during the flight. Still frames were extracted when either turtle or litter were detected in post-flight processing. The extracted frames were georeferenced and mapped using QGIS software. Results showed that turtles are highly exposed to FML in nearshore waters. Moreover, spatial dependence between FML and turtles was also observed. The study highlights the effectiveness of UAVs in marine litter research and underscores the threat of FML to turtles in nearshore waters.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Neil Angelo S Abreo
- Marine Litter Project, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Laboratory - Environmental Studies Group, University of the Philippines Mindanao, Philippines; Institute of Advanced Studies, Davao del Norte State College, Panabo City, Philippines.
| | - Remie M Aurelio
- Center for the Advancement of Research in Mindanao, Office of Research, University of the Philippines Mindanao, Philippines
| | - Vladimer B Kobayashi
- Marine Litter Project, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Laboratory - Environmental Studies Group, University of the Philippines Mindanao, Philippines; Department of Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science, College of Science and Mathematics, University of the Philippines Mindanao, Philippines
| | | |
Collapse
|