Relating to orcas emerging during oil spills and breathing volatile petroleum fumes.
Deep Sea News : Orcas and Oil
Cetaceans are obligatory surface breathers and the large quantities of monoaromatic hydrocarbons evaporating out of the oil slick would have been most concentrated immediately above the water's surface. Monoaromatics easily cross membranes in the lungs, and will be taken up rapidly, resulting in a narcosis response well documented in humans (Ainsworth 1960, Bass 1986). The fumes themselves may not have been directly lethal, but they could easily have caused marine mammals to lose consciousness and drown (St. Aubin & Geraci 1994).
May 6th, 2008
