[Animals] They discovered what killed more than 30 whales in Península Valdés: "red tide" toxins

[Inkriql]

 

The mysterious appearance of up to 30 dead whales in Península Valdés between the end of September and the beginning of October finally has an explanation. The Whale Conservation Institute (ICB) confirmed the finding of "red tide" toxins in cetaceans.

"The research carried out to date supports the hypothesis according to which the death of whales was due to a harmful algal bloom in the Nuevo Gulf that occurred between the end of September and the beginning of October", a phenomenon known as "red tide", he specified. the ICB on its official website.

 

What is a “red tide”
Red tides are caused by a massive proliferation of some species of microscopic algae that produce powerful toxins and are produced all over the world. Due to the fact that microalgae have pigments, their accumulation on the sea surface can be visualized as spots of variable extension, reddish, brown or greenish in color, which has given them the name "red tide".

Neurotoxins produced by harmful algal blooms can lead to mass deaths of fish, whales, turtles and seabirds. People can also get sick from toxins in the water or through eating contaminated shellfish.

Also read: He could no longer speak and recovered his voice thanks to a viral video: "I'm here for the whales"

The details of the ICB report on the death of whales in the Valdés Peninsula
The informative part refers to the 30 whales found dead in the Nuevo Gulf, on the south face of Península Valdés "between September 24 and October 11, including 26 adults and 4 juveniles."

“Of the adult whales, 19 were female, 2 male and 5 unidentified, and of the juveniles, 1 was male and 3 unidentified,” the report detailed.

In total, necropsies were carried out on the 6 whales that were found to be in the best conditions to make reliable diagnoses. In addition, partial samples were collected, without opening cavities, in another 3 whales that were found in areas of public use and could not be towed to another site.

 

"It was not possible to collect samples from 13 whales: 4 that beached in public use areas and 9 that were in an advanced state of decomposition at the time of discovery or were removed by the sea before being examined," the report explained.

The specialists continued to work to examine the 8 remaining whales, all found in an advanced state of decomposition and on isolated beaches with difficult access in the Nuevo Gulf.

 

 

The conclusions of the work are summarized in 9 points, among which it is highlighted that “the whales examined had ingested diatoms Pseudo-nitzschia spp. and/or dinoflagellates of the genus Alexandrium catenella/tamarense complex, producers of biotoxins capable of causing the death of birds and marine mammals, including large whales”.

In addition, the finding of "biotoxins from the paralytic group of molluscs in both the gastrointestinal content and in various tissues and fluids of the dead whales examined" is detailed.

“The toxins detected were neosaxitoxin in the urine of 2 whales and in the intestinal content of 1 specimen, in which saxitoxin and gonyautoxins were also found (these to a lesser extent) and also saxitoxin in the intestinal content of 1 whale and the liver of 2″.

 

https://tn.com.ar/sociedad/2022/10/21/descubrieron-que-fue-lo-que-mato-a-mas-de-30-ballenas-en-peninsula-valdes-toxinas-de-marea-roja/