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Porpoises in British waters are being found with record rates of mercury in their livers, scientists have discovered.
New research finds mercury levels in British waters have increased over time, and animals with higher levels have also more likely to die From infectious disease.
Liver samples being analyzed from 738 Harbor Porpoise Found stranded off the UK coast between 1990 and 2021, scientists found that mercury concentrations in porpoise livers increased by 1 percent each year.
By 2021, average mercury concentrations were nearly double what they were in the early 1990s.
As mercury concentrations in porpoise livers increased, scientists observed an increase in the proportion of porpoises dying from infectious disease and a corresponding decline in deaths from trauma.
Rosie Williams, author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at the Zoological Society of London, said that while it does not conclusively prove that mercury is the sole cause of the increase in infectious disease deaths, the study “strongly suggests that mercury is part of the problem”.
Harbor Porpoise is a marine mammal Dolphins and whales are related to and considered “sentinel species” – animals that signal the health of ecosystems and point out potential risks.
The authors of the recent study in the journal Environmental Science and Technology also warned that the findings could have implications for humans as well.
“Harbour porpoises are small, shy and easily overlooked. But their tissues are quietly recording the story of our chemical footprint in the ocean,” Ms Williams writes. Conversation.
“If apex predators in Britain’s coastal waters are becoming more polluted, the same processes could affect some of the fish and shellfish we eat.”
Mercury levels in shallow ocean waters have tripled since the Industrial Revolution due to human activities such as burning fossil fuels.
The mercury then accumulates through the food chain, particularly affecting predators such as porpoises which build up levels of mercury in their tissues.
Ms Williams said: “A safe ocean for porpoises and people can be achieved by rapidly phasing out coal, reducing industrial emissions and moving away from mercury-containing products where safer alternatives exist.”