MONITORING OF DOLPHIN DISEASE IN THE CURRENT ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS OF THE BLACK SEA

Abstract

In the modern realities of full-scale hostilities in Ukraine, the influence of anthropogenic factors on the health status and total number of marine mammals in the Black Sea has increased significantly. Active military operations and mining of the sea lead not only to injuries to animals, but also to acoustic pollution of the marine environment, which is the most likely cause of spontaneous releases of animals onto the coast. When the organs of echolocation are damaged animals lose their ability to navigate in the water, become "blind", lose their ability to hunt and suffer numerous injuries.
A number of dangerous factors contributing to the increase in the incidence of dolphins include numerous dirty waters from the destroyed Kakhovka hydroelectric power station and a significant amount of fresh water, which also violated the environmental norms of the environment. The consequences of this are increased blooming of water, an increase in the number of phytoplankton and general toxicity of the environment. A decrease in the salinity of seawater in combination with the active reproduction of phytoplankton contributes to a decrease in the natural resistance of the dolphins' body to environmental factors. As a result, increased morbidity among dolphins, primarily from pathogenic algae and unicellular organisms. With dirty waters, many toxic substances from fields and gardens, water from sewage and various storages of poisonous substances, toxic metals, gasoline and oil entered the Black Sea, which also had a very detrimental effect on the general ecology of the Black Sea.