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These microplastics are frequently consumed by marine organisms at the base of the food chain, like plankton and fish larvae, which leads to a concentration of ingested plastic up the food chain. Plastics are produced with toxic chemicals which then enter the marine food chain, including the fish that some humans eat. [37]
[62] [63] Levels of pollutants in toothed-whale products are significantly higher than those of baleen whales, [64] reflecting the fact that toothed whales feed at a higher trophic level than baleen whales in the food chain (other high-up animals such as sharks, swordfish and large tuna show similarly high levels of mercury contamination). [65]
Orcas (or killer whales) are large, powerful aquatic apex predators. There have been incidents where orcas were perceived to attack humans in the wild, but such attacks are less common than those by captive orcas. [1] In captivity, there have been several non-fatal and four fatal attacks on humans since the 1970s. [2]
Researchers have warned that human impact on the ocean is putting increasing pressure on dolphins and whales, and their ecosystems. The UK whale and dolphin conservation charity Orca recorded ...
In the drone video, they observed that younger, smaller whales often swam sideways or facing forward, opening and closing their mouths to find and take in food. Older, bigger whales, meanwhile ...
Once in the food webs, these pesticides can cause mutations, as well as diseases, which can be harmful to humans as well as the entire food web. Toxic metals can also be introduced into marine food webs. These can cause a change to tissue matter, biochemistry, behavior, reproduction, and suppress growth in marine life.
The scientists found large whales such as humpbacks and North Atlantic right whales were among the most vulnerable to climate change, and that other toothed whales and dolphins were also at high risk.
"Whale pump" – the role played by whales in nutrient recycling in the oceans (based on Fig. 1 of Roman & McCarthy (2010) [1]) Whale feces, the excrement of whales, has a vital role in the ecology of oceans, [2] earning whales the title of "marine ecosystem engineers." This significant ecological role stems from the nutrients and compounds ...