SARASOTA, Fla.—A new study suggests that red tide isn’t the only thing affecting marine life along Florida’s gulf coast.
The study by GeoHealth shows that dolphins in Sarasota Bay are exposed to chemicals found in cleaning products, pesticides, cosmetics, personal care products and plastics.
Dr. Randy Wells of Mote Marine and Aquarium said the dolphins in Sarasota Bay have been being studied since the 1970s and their health has been monitored ever since.
Wells said what they’re looking at in blood samples, fecal samples, and urine samples are micro-plastics, and those were different from the pesticides they had been looking at before.
“There are over 100,000 different chemicals that humans have put into the environment,” Wells said.
Wells said the plastics were getting into the animals from the food they are eating.
The concern is dolphins eat some of the same fish as people, so what they’re experiencing could be a reflection of what people are getting out of the environment, too.
Wells said just caring for the environment and not letting plastics get into it is what people can do to help.
“My biggest fear is that this is yet another insult to these animals. It’s another threat that they have to face,” Wells said.
Wells said people were responsible for this problem, and so humans should do their part to try and solve the problems.
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