![[-]](https://fuerteventura.click/images/collapse.png "[-]")
03-03-2022, 10:36 PM
from Noticias:
A lethal biotoxin would have killed dozens of dolphins in the Canary Islands.
As stated in an exclusive by David G. Maciejewski for the digital El Español, the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria "has come to the conclusion that climate change has killed, indirectly, dozens of dolphins near the coasts of the Canary Islands. Veterinary pathologists have found evidence of the existence of a number of biotoxins generated by local microalgae have been lethal to cetaceans."
These toxins, known as 'brevetoxins', are emitted by microalgae because of factors related to climate change, such as the warming of Atlantic waters. The microscopic particles expelled by the microalgae of the karenia brevis species end up in the stomachs of the fish and these, in turn, are devoured by the dolphins, which causes intoxication and, subsequently, an acute death.
"The research, which has been led by Professor Antonio Fernández, coordinator of the team of veterinary pathologists of the University Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety (IUSA) of the ULPGC, and published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, suggests that this could explain that in 2008 more than a dozen apparently healthy and young dolphins appeared dead on the coasts of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria", states exclusively El Español..
"It represents the first case of brevetoxicosis in European waters causing massive acute mortality," they point out from the ULPGC
The ULPGC states that "this new research work represents the first case of brevetoxicosis in European waters causing massive acute mortality in dolphins caused by this natural toxin." And he adds "that this type of brevetoxins are relatively frequent in warmer areas, such as the Gulf of Mexico, but unprecedented in this area of the Atlantic and in Europe. In fact, it is the first time that this type of poisoning has been recorded on the continent."
However, despite the alarm, the report also notes that there have been no other mass or individual deaths of dolphins or other cetaceans recorded in the Canary Islands since then.
Destabilization of ecosystems
These 'seaweed blooms' or HABs, as they are called in English, are increasingly frequent around the world and can destabilize entire ecosystems, as they cause a reduction in oxygen, generate obstructions in the gills of some fish and even suffocate corals through the production of biotoxins. All this, in turn, can generate a long-term negative impact on humans, although the study has not assessed the possible effects that consuming fish contaminated by these brevetoxins could have on people.
The study concludes that this is the first time that the mass death of cetaceans related to brevetoxicosis has been documented in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. "The epidemiological data [...] they clearly indicate a group of deaths caused at the same time and in the same area."
Thus, the report points out that gastric toxicological analyses of dolphins indicate that they could have died of "multisystem hemorrhage" and "indigestion" caused by these lethal toxins, and urge other institutions to observe European waters (SDG 14: Underwater life) to avoid a possible proliferation of this type of cases that, they insist, derive from the effects of climate change generated on marine and terrestrial ecosystems.
A lethal biotoxin would have killed dozens of dolphins in the Canary Islands.
As stated in an exclusive by David G. Maciejewski for the digital El Español, the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria "has come to the conclusion that climate change has killed, indirectly, dozens of dolphins near the coasts of the Canary Islands. Veterinary pathologists have found evidence of the existence of a number of biotoxins generated by local microalgae have been lethal to cetaceans."
These toxins, known as 'brevetoxins', are emitted by microalgae because of factors related to climate change, such as the warming of Atlantic waters. The microscopic particles expelled by the microalgae of the karenia brevis species end up in the stomachs of the fish and these, in turn, are devoured by the dolphins, which causes intoxication and, subsequently, an acute death.
"The research, which has been led by Professor Antonio Fernández, coordinator of the team of veterinary pathologists of the University Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety (IUSA) of the ULPGC, and published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, suggests that this could explain that in 2008 more than a dozen apparently healthy and young dolphins appeared dead on the coasts of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria", states exclusively El Español..
"It represents the first case of brevetoxicosis in European waters causing massive acute mortality," they point out from the ULPGC
The ULPGC states that "this new research work represents the first case of brevetoxicosis in European waters causing massive acute mortality in dolphins caused by this natural toxin." And he adds "that this type of brevetoxins are relatively frequent in warmer areas, such as the Gulf of Mexico, but unprecedented in this area of the Atlantic and in Europe. In fact, it is the first time that this type of poisoning has been recorded on the continent."
However, despite the alarm, the report also notes that there have been no other mass or individual deaths of dolphins or other cetaceans recorded in the Canary Islands since then.
Destabilization of ecosystems
These 'seaweed blooms' or HABs, as they are called in English, are increasingly frequent around the world and can destabilize entire ecosystems, as they cause a reduction in oxygen, generate obstructions in the gills of some fish and even suffocate corals through the production of biotoxins. All this, in turn, can generate a long-term negative impact on humans, although the study has not assessed the possible effects that consuming fish contaminated by these brevetoxins could have on people.
The study concludes that this is the first time that the mass death of cetaceans related to brevetoxicosis has been documented in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. "The epidemiological data [...] they clearly indicate a group of deaths caused at the same time and in the same area."
Thus, the report points out that gastric toxicological analyses of dolphins indicate that they could have died of "multisystem hemorrhage" and "indigestion" caused by these lethal toxins, and urge other institutions to observe European waters (SDG 14: Underwater life) to avoid a possible proliferation of this type of cases that, they insist, derive from the effects of climate change generated on marine and terrestrial ecosystems.