RUC researchers will investigate the impact of pharmaceuticals on Arctic whales.
For many years, there has been concern about the pollution of the world’s oceans in the form of plastics and man-made chemicals, but so far, it has been underexplored how pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment impact marine animals, including Arctic whale species.
tt备用网址 David M?bjerg Kristensen from the Department of Science and Environment at Roskilde University has now received a grant of DKK 10 million from the VELUX FOUNDATION to investigate whether pharmaceuticals are concentrated in the marine environment and thereby affect Arctic whales.
Together with tt备用网址 of Ecotoxicology Henriette Selck, he will investigate the amount of pharmaceuticals in whales and the possible consequences for the animals’ health, in close collaboration with researchers from, among others, the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources (Pinngortitaleriffik).
"For decades, we have been using more and more pharmaceuticals and increasing data now suggest that they do not simply disappear when released into the environment, for example via wastewater. The project aims to investigate whether these synthetic substances accumulate in the marine environment and end up at the top of the food chain in whales such as the iconic narwhal, thereby harming them, as it has been seen with other synthetic chemicals," says David M?bjerg Kristensen.
Focus on arctic whales
In the project, the researchers will examine samples from baleen and toothed whales from the Arctic region. In addition to pharmaceuticals, it will furthermore focus on the levels of well-known synthetic chemicals such as PFAS, pesticides, and PCB —harmful chemicals that was previously used in building materials.
A special feature of the project is that the researchers have the opportunity to examine the historical development of how marine animals have been exposed to these chemicals by analyzing samples from both narwhals and harbour porpoises in West Greenland collected over four decades by the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources.
Besides examining the levels of synthetic chemicals, the project also aims to understand the hormones behind the animals’ fertility and stress, thereby gaining a greater understanding of how chemicals affect animal health in the marine environment.
"With the analyses, we will be able to detail the consequences of the chemicals for the individual animals. Our project will hopefully provide crucial insights into the impact of pharmaceuticals and other synthetic chemicals on the marine environment and offer tools that can be used to protect whale populations and the people in the Arctic who depend on them as a food source," says David M?bjerg Kristensen.
The VELUX FOUNDATION supports the project as part of the foundation’s grant area ‘A Sea in Balance and Focus on Combating Marine Pollution’ (Et hav I balance og fokus p? bek?mpelse af havforurening).
"We expect that the project will contribute vital knowledge that can help prevent and reduce marine pollution. In short, we lack knowledge about how pharmaceutical residues and other man-made chemicals, which unfortunately end up in the marine environment, affect both the marine ecosystem and human health. We look forward to following the project, which, in addition to uncovering the extent of the pollution, will also point to tools that can be used to protect the marine environment and human health, which is crucial to achieving a sea in balance," says Adam Billing, grant advisor at the VELUX FOUNDATION.
The research project is led by Roskilde University and also includes the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources (Pinngortitaleriffik) in Nuuk, Aarhus University, University of Copenhagen, and Rigshospitalet.
