Though the oceans are revered for their beauty and diversity of sealife, unfortunately, sea creatures aren’t immune to stresses and drug exposure. Off the Gulf of Mexico, several drugs, like fentanyl, were detected in the blubber tissues of many dolphins, raising concern for the health of the oceans (Jacobo). Researchers conducted mass spectrometry tests on 89 dolphin tissues, 83 of them from live dolphins, and all of the samples had positive results for drugs with fentanyl being the most prevalent in 24 dolphins. Additionally, these dolphin samples came from varying years, suggesting that the drugs in the Gulf of Mexico waterways may have been around for nearly a decade (Jacobo). However, dolphins don’t drink water for hydration; they receive hydration from consuming prey, implying that the dolphins aren’t the only sea creatures contaminated by the drugs in the water. Given this information, drug pollution in the water may have been a longstanding and widespread issue, adding to the many stressors that sealife currently faces (Jacobo). Sea creatures already have to deal with oil spills, noise pollution, chemical spills, vessel traffic, algal blooms, and environmental destruction for tourism on top of this drug pollution issue. No research has been done to elucidate the long-term effects of drugs on sea creatures, and new research on the impact of human-caused stressors on sealife involving the drug stressor is needed to aid ocean conservation efforts (Jacobo).
The drug stressor and other human-caused stressors dolphins and other sea creatures face generates an interesting conversation with the research done by Dr. Sodhi and her colleagues. In their study “Deficits of Hippocampal RNA Editing and Social Interaction Resulting from Prenatal Stress are Mitigated by Clozapine,” Dr. Sodhi and her fellow researchers sought to explain the relationship between neurological disorders and prenatal stress that affect social behavior (Bristow et al.). They hypothesized that social interaction deficits in male mice birthed from mothers who were stressed in the prenatal stage were due to RNA editing. They also hypothesized that antipsychotic drug treatment could alleviate those deficits (Bristow et al.). Dr. Sodhi and her colleagues conducted this research as it is known that impaired brain development is a result of psychological distress during pregnancy, which could lead to brain disorders such as schizophrenia and autism. For the results, Dr. Sodhi and her fellow researchers found that the clozapine drug treatment mitigated the behavioral defects of the mice offspring from prenatal-stressed mothers (Bristow et al.).
Dr. Sodhi’s research highlights a possible new avenue for marine researchers to explore: the effects of drug stressors on dolphins and other sea life. In her research with her colleagues, Dr. Sodhi showed how prenatal stress in mice mothers resulted in socially deficient mice offspring (Bristow et al.). While it may be a challenge to replicate, it would be beneficial for marine research to know how human-caused stressors affect sea life developmentally, especially drug stressors on prenatal development. Information that could be gleaned from such research would also be helpful for ocean conservation efforts. It would also be interesting to see further research elucidate how the molecular processes in the sea creatures’ brains were affected by the pollution and stressors around them. While Dr. Sodhi’s research may not completely apply to the dolphins and sea creatures undergoing drug pollution and other human-caused stressors, it is interesting to connect this scientific research to a real-world issue.
from Prenatal Stress are Mitigated by Clozapine.” bioRxiv, 2 Feb. 2021,
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.02.429408.
Jacobo, Julia. “Several Drugs, Including Fentanyl, Found in Bottlenose Dolphins in Gulf of
Mexico, Scientists Say.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 6 Dec. 2024,
abcnews.go.com/International/drugs-including-fentanyl-found-bottleneck-dolphins-gulf-
mexico/story?id=116523978.
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