Plastic ingestion in Franciscana dolphins, Pontoporia blainvillei (Gervais and d’Orbigny, 1844), from Argentina

DENUNCIO, P; BASTIDA, R; DASSIS, M; GIARDINO, G; GERPE, M; RODRIGUEZ, D

MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2011 vol. 62 p. 1836 - 1841

0025-326X

Plastic debris (PD) ingestion was examined in 106 Franciscana dolphins (Pontoporia blainvillei) incidentally captured in artisanal fisheries of the northern coast of Argentina. Twenty-eight percent of the dolphins presented PD in their stomach, but no ulcerations or obstructions were recorded in the digestive tracts. PD ingestion was more frequent in estuarine (34.6%) than in marine (19.2%) environments, but the type of debris was similar. Packaging debris (cellophane, bags, and bands) was found in 64.3% of the dolphins, with a lesser proportion (35.7%) ingesting fishery gear fragments (monofilament lines, ropes, and nets) or of unknown sources (25.0%). PD ingestion correlated with ontogenetic changes in feeding regimes, reaching maximum values in recently weaned dolphins. Because a simultaneous increase in gillnet entanglement and the bioaccumulation of heavy metals take place at this stage, the first months after trophic independence should be considered as a key phase for the conservation of Franciscana dolphin stocks in northern Argentina.