A surprising discovery has highlighted a troubling link between human pharmaceuticals and marine life. Researchers at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi recently identified traces of fentanyl and other drugs in the blubber of bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico, signaling a growing environmental issue. The finding came after a routine boating survey in September 2020 […]
Tag: Bottlenose Dolphins
Microplastics are sickening and killing wildlife, disrupting Earth systems
Bottlenose dolphins leapt and torpedoed through the shallow turquoise waters off Florida’s Sarasota Bay. Then, a research team moved in, quickly corralling the small pod in a large net. With the speed of a race car pit crew, veterinarians, biologists and their assistants examined the animals, checking vital signs while taking skin, blood and other […]
Researchers Detect Microplastics in Dolphin Breath
For the first time, researchers have found microplastics in dolphin breath, raising concerns over the amount of microplastics the animals are drawing when they come up for air. The team collected samples of air released by five bottlenose dolphins in Sarasota Bay, Florida and six dolphins in Barataria Bay, Louisiana in May and June of […]
Bottlenose Dolphins Have a “Seventh Sense”
Bottlenose dolphins have astounded scientists with a remarkable sensory ability: electroreception, often dubbed their seventh sense. While humans rely on taste, touch, smell, hearing, and sight, dolphins elevate their sensory repertoire with the detection of weak electric fields. Recent studies, notably from the University of Rostock and Nuremberg Zoo in Germany, have illuminated this capability. […]