{"id":3513252,"date":"2025-05-29T09:32:25","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T09:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.resilience.org\/?p=3513252"},"modified":"2025-06-06T22:32:40","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T22:32:40","slug":"microplastic-pollution-is-everywhere-even-in-the-exhaled-breath-of-dolphins-new-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.resilience.org\/stories\/2025-05-29\/microplastic-pollution-is-everywhere-even-in-the-exhaled-breath-of-dolphins-new-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Microplastic pollution is everywhere, even in the exhaled breath of dolphins \u2013 new research"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bottlenose dolphins in Sarasota Bay in Florida and Barataria Bay in Louisiana are exhaling microplastic fibers, according to our <\/span>new research published in the journal PLOS One<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>

Tiny plastic pieces have spread all over the planet \u2013 on land<\/a>, in the air<\/a> and even in clouds<\/a>. An estimated 170 trillion bits of microplastic<\/a> are estimated to be in the oceans alone. Across the globe, research has found people<\/a> and wildlife<\/a> are exposed to microplastics mainly through eating and drinking<\/a>, but also through breathing<\/a>.<\/p>

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A plastic microfiber found in the exhaled breath of a bottlenose dolphin is nearly 14 times smaller than a strand of hair and can be seen only with a microscope. Miranda Dziobak\/College of Charleston, CC BY-SA<\/a><\/em><\/p>

Our study found the microplastic particles exhaled by bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus<\/em>) are similar in chemical composition to those identified in human lungs<\/a>. Whether dolphins are exposed to more of these pollutants than people are is not yet known.<\/p>

Why it matters<\/h3>

In humans, inhaled microplastics can cause lung inflammation<\/a>, which can lead to problems including tissue damage, excess mucus, pneumonia, bronchitis, scarring and possibly cancer<\/a>. Since dolphins and humans inhale similar plastic particles, dolphins may be at risk for the same lung problems.<\/p>

Research also shows plastics contain chemicals that, in humans, can affect reproduction<\/a>, cardiovascular health<\/a> and neurological function<\/a>. Since dolphins are mammals<\/a>, microplastics may well pose these health risks for them, too.<\/p>

As top predators with decades-long life spans<\/a>, bottlenose dolphins help scientists understand the impacts of pollutants on marine ecosystems \u2013 and the related health risks for people living near coasts. This research is important because more than 41% of the world\u2019s human population<\/a> lives within 62 miles (100 km) of a coast.<\/p>

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Troubled Waters: How Microplastics Are Impacting Our Oceans and Our Health<\/a><\/h3>\n\n
<\/path> <\/path> <\/path> <\/path> <\/svg><\/span>June 24, 2025 \u2022 10:00am US Pacific<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n\n

Join Dr. Britta Baechler<\/strong> (Ocean Conservancy), Christy Leavitt<\/strong> (Oceana), Emily Penn<\/strong> (ocean advocate & skipper), and Madeline Kaufman<\/strong> (Debris Free Oceans) on an exploration of this topic and what we can do in response.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\"Gyre<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\nFREE REGISTRATION<\/a>\n<\/div>

What still isn\u2019t known<\/h3>

Scientists estimate the oceans contain many trillions of plastic particles<\/a>, which get there through runoff, wastewater or settling from the air. Ocean waves can release these particles into the air<\/a>.<\/p>

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The ocean releases microplastics into the air through surface froth and wave action. Once the particles are released, wind can transport them to other locations. Steve Allen<\/a>, CC BY-SA<\/a><\/em><\/p>

In fact, bubble bursts caused by wave energy can release 100,000 metric tons<\/a> of microplastics into the atmosphere each year. Since dolphins and other marine mammals breathe at the water\u2019s surface, they may be especially vulnerable to exposure.<\/p>

Where there are more people, there is usually more plastic<\/a>. But for the tiny plastic particles floating in the air, this connection isn\u2019t always true. Airborne microplastics are not limited to heavily populated areas; they pollute undeveloped regions<\/a>, too.<\/p>

Our research found microplastics in the breath of dolphins living in both urban and rural estuaries<\/a>, but we don\u2019t yet know whether there are major differences in amounts or types of plastic particles between the two habitats.<\/p>

How we do our work<\/h3>

Breath samples for our study were collected from wild bottlenose dolphins during catch-and-release health assessments conducted in partnership with the Brookfield Zoo Chicago<\/a>, Sarasota Dolphin Research Program<\/a>, National Marine Mammal Foundation<\/a> and Fundaci\u00f3n Oceanogr\u00e0fic<\/a>.<\/p>

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Exhaled breath is collected from a dolphin during a wild dolphin health assessment in Barataria Bay in Louisiana. Todd Speakman\/National Marine Mammal Foundation<\/a>, CC BY-SA<\/a><\/em><\/p>

During these brief permitted health assessments, we held a petri dish or a customized spirometer<\/a> \u2013 a device that measures lung function \u2013 above the dolphin\u2019s blowhole to collect samples of the animals\u2019 exhaled breath. Using a microscope in our colleague\u2019s lab<\/a>, we checked for tiny particles that looked like plastic, such as pieces with smooth surfaces, bright colors or a fibrous shape.<\/p>

Since plastic melts when heated, we used a soldering needle to test whether these suspected pieces were plastic. To confirm they were indeed plastic, our colleague<\/a> used a specialized method called Raman spectroscopy<\/a>, which uses a laser to create a structural fingerprint that can be matched to a specific chemical.<\/p>

Our study highlights how extensive plastic pollution is \u2013 and how other living things, including dolphins, are exposed. While the impacts of plastic inhalation on dolphins\u2019 lungs are not yet known, people can help address the microplastic pollution problem by reducing plastic use and working to prevent more plastic from polluting the oceans.\"The<\/p>

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bottlenose dolphins in Sarasota Bay in Florida and Barataria Bay in Louisiana are exhaling microplastic fibers, according to our new research published in the journal PLOS One.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128238,"featured_media":3513268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79718,252051],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3513252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","category-troubled-waters"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.resilience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3513252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.resilience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.resilience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.resilience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/128238"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.resilience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3513252"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.resilience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3513252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3513585,"href":"https:\/\/www.resilience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3513252\/revisions\/3513585"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.resilience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3513268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.resilience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3513252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.resilience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3513252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.resilience.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3513252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}