(ANSA) – ROME, JULY 31 – At least 5 thousand dolphins have died since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. This is the alarm raised by marine biologists and ecologists of the countries of the Black Sea region, according to the Kyiv Independent.
Ivan Rusev, an environmental scientist at the Tuzly Estuarine National Nature Park in Ukraine, estimates the number to be three times higher than pre-war data.
Dolphins use echolocation, also called biosonar, to communicate, find food and navigate. The constant underwater noise caused by the submarines of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and their powerful hydrocollators, as well as the explosions, is causing acoustic trauma to the dolphins. As a result, mammals die in greater numbers as they have difficulty finding food and become susceptible to viruses and parasites due to weakened immune systems. As Russian warships use the Black Sea to launch missiles over Ukrainian territory, the situation is expected to worsen, with devastating effects on the Black Sea ecosystem.
Before the war, a comprehensive survey of the Black Sea cetacean population found that there were at least 253,000 dolphins in the Black Sea and the populations “had not shrunk in the past 20 years.” Environmental scientists from Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania have now reported a significant increase in the number of dead dolphins brought ashore, Kyiv Independent writes. (HANDLE).
Source: Ansa
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