Whales have been observed with skin damage similar to acute sunburn in humans, and the problem is getting worse with time, British researchers say.
Scientists from the United Kingdom studied blue whales, fin whales and sperm whales in the Gulf of California to measure the effect of rising levels of ultraviolet radiation on their health, ScienceDaily.com reported Wednesday.
Blisters on the skin of whales have been observed for a number of years, and now researchers using high-definition photos to give accurate counts of the blisters and analyzing areas of damage in skin samples say they've found the three species of whale exhibit skin damage commonly associated with acute sunburn in humans.
The UV index in the whales' habitat in the Gulf of California fluctuates between high and extremely high throughout the year.
"Whales need to come to the surface to breathe air, to socialize and to feed their young, meaning that they are frequently exposed to the full force of the sun," researcher Laura Martinez-Levasseur says.
"The increase in skin damage seen in blue whales is a matter of concern, but at this stage it is not clear what is causing this increase," she says.
"A likely candidate is rising UVR as a result of either ozone depletion, or a change in the level of cloud cover."
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