- Since the start of the war in Ukraine there’s been an increase number of dolphin strandings in the Black Sea.
- The loud noises of war may disrupt the communication between dolphins and porpoises, but they can still communicate with each other.
- As ongoing fighting makes it difficult for researchers to assess the long-term impacts, they aren’t yet certain.
There have been hundreds of deaths in the Black Sea from the resident porpoise or dolphin population, in addition to the thousands of civilians who died in the invasion of Ukraine in February.
Scientists who study the region Reported an “unusual increase” in strandings and bycatch — when animals are unintentionally caught by fishermen — of dolphins, porpoises, and whales, in the spring and summer of 2022, according to a recent reportACCOBAMS is the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea and Mediterranean Seas.
The entire Black Sea Basin is under threat from Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, which escalated in February 2022. The report stated that military activities in coastal and marine areas may have an impact on the marine biota, including cetaceans.
Erich Hoyt from the UK-based Whale and Dolphin Conservation and ACCOBAMS scientist, said that more than 700 deaths in dolphins and harbor poises have been recorded along the coasts of countries bordering the sea.
Researchers are working to determine the cause of the deaths that have been observed, but the ongoing war — and the potential threat posed by drifting mines — make data collection and boat surveys difficult.
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Reports have surfaced that dolphins were stranded on the shore with injuries such as burns. This could be due to being caught in the crossfire. Ivan RusevAccording to the research director of Ukraine’s Tuzla estuaries National Nature park, dolphins were found washed ashore by burn marks from bombs or mining earlier this year. Others appeared unable or unwilling to navigate.
However, the increased number of dolphins caught in bycatch and strandings could be due to the warlord noises.
Hoyt stated that porpoises and dolphins rely on sound to communicate with one another, navigate and find food. While increased ship traffic may have some effect, the sounds of explosions at sea or below the surface could disorientate, wound, or even kill dolphins and porpoises in a short distance or increase the number of strandings or bycatch.
Whales, porpoises and dolphins have an acute hearing, and they use echolocation to map their surroundings. They emit short, rhythmic “clicks”, similar to finger snapping. Once they have found an object, the dolphin bounces back to them. Loud noises can disrupt the dolphin’s ability to understand the environment and identify food.
Dolphins communicate with eachother using sound, which is similar to a whistle. documented using verbal labels to address one another — in a word: names.
Sound also travels further than air and is four-and-half times faster through water than in air. This makes the effects of explosions in seawater all the more devastating.
Although scientists are still trying to determine the cause of the increase in deaths, Hoyt suggested that the noise disturbances may be disorienting dolphins and leading to them becoming stranded or caught in a net by a fisherman.
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Another possibility is that fighting is driving the animals away from their natural habitats in Ukraine and bringing them to unknown areas to find food. They may also be more likely be caught in a net or to be stranded onshore.
Experts have also identified areas along the coast of Ukraine as being vital for porpoise and dolphin populations. Hoyt serves as co-chair of International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task ForceThis is a map that identifies areas of marine mammal habitat conservation importance.
Several locations around Ukraine — including some that have been subject to fighting — have previously been designated as important habitats, including areas around the Crimean peninsulaThe Kerch StraitThe, and Sea of AzovAs shown in This interactive map.
These areas are important habitats of three endangered species, IUCN says: the Black Sea harbour porpoise and Black Sea common dolphin.
Hoyt stated that there were fears that dolphins and porpoises who use these areas all year will be killed or exterminated. “But since no research can be conducted there right now, it is unlikely that we will know until after the war has ended.”
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