Ecological variables influencing trace element concentrations in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu 1821) stranded in continental Portugal

Both the conservation status of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) (Habitats Directive 92/43/CEE, Annex II) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive demand for data on their ecology and anthropogenic threats. To evaluate the bottlenose dolphin's toxicological status in continental Port...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Science of the total environment 2016-02, Vol.544, p.837-844
Main Authors: Monteiro, Sílvia S., Torres, Jordi, Ferreira, Marisa, Marçalo, Ana, Nicolau, Lídia, Vingada, José V., Eira, Catarina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Bottle-Nosed Dolphin - metabolism
Environmental Monitoring
Heavy metals
Marine
Marine mammals
North Atlantic
Pollution
Portugal
Trace Elements - metabolism
Tursiops truncatus
Water Pollutants, Chemical - metabolism
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Summary:Both the conservation status of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) (Habitats Directive 92/43/CEE, Annex II) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive demand for data on their ecology and anthropogenic threats. To evaluate the bottlenose dolphin's toxicological status in continental Portugal, several trace elements (As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, Zn) were determined in 25 stranded individuals. The potential effect of sex, body length and stranding location on trace element concentrations was analysed. In the present study, bottlenose dolphins presented high mercury levels, only exceeded by animals from the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas. Only essential elements were influenced by dolphin sex, whereas Cd, Hg and Pb bioaccumulated in larger dolphins, and hepatic Hg and Cd concentrations were higher in the northwest coast of continental Portugal. The location effect may relate to variations in bottlenose diet and trace element availability, according to the proximity to anthropogenic sources in the Atlantic Iberian coast. [Display omitted] •High levels of mercury in bottlenose dolphins from Portugal.•Mercury only exceeded by levels reported in the Mediterranean and the Adriatic.•Evidence of bioaccumulation of several trace elements.•Essential trace elements were influenced by sex of bottlenose dolphins.•Evidence of stranding location effect on trace element levels.
ISSN:0048-9697
1879-1026
DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.12.037