Scientists have found fentanyl and other drugs in many dolphins from the Gulf of Mexico, which could have serious effects on the health of the ocean, according to their findings.
Dara Orbach, an assistant professor at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s marine biology program and one of the study’s authors, explained to ABC News that the research started in September 2020. A team of marine biologists was out on a routine survey to check on the dolphin population when they discovered a dead dolphin floating in the water.
They noticed the dolphin had recently died because its tail was still moving. So, they decided to bring the dolphin back to their campus for further examination. Later, when graduate student Makayla Guinn needed tissue samples from dolphins for her hormone research, the scientists were able to collect some blubber from that same dolphin for their study.
The researchers collaborated with biochemist Hussain Abdulla from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, who provided his lab for an analysis of the dolphin tissues. This analysis aimed to identify various chemicals present in the samples. Though they were initially looking for hormones, they unexpectedly discovered thousands of compounds. They focused on three specific substances, including fentanyl, a muscle relaxant, and a sedative, and found traces of all three in the tissues.
For her undergraduate project, Anya Ocampos tested 89 dolphin samples using a mass spectrometer, including 83 from live dolphins in Laguna Madre, near Corpus Christi Bay. Fentanyl was the most commonly found drug, detected in 24 of the samples. Additionally, dolphins don’t drink water, according to Orbach. Instead, they get most of their hydration from the food they eat, which means that the animals they hunt probably have these contaminants in their bodies too.
“This is something that we really need to monitor with time, so that we need to make sure that we’re not seeing increases in fentanyl concentrations,”
Wittmaack said.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?