New insights from age determination on toxic element accumulation in striped and bottlenose dolphins from Atlantic and Mediterranean waters
| Type | Article | ||||||||
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| Date | 2006-10 | ||||||||
| Language | English | ||||||||
| Author(s) | Lahaye Virginie1, 5, Bustamante Paco1, 5, Dabin W2, Van Canneyt O2, Dhermain F3, Cesarini C3, Pierce G4, Caurant Florence1, 5 | ||||||||
| Affiliation(s) | 1 : Univ La Rochelle, CNRS, UMR 6217, IFREMER,Ctr Rech Ecosyst Littoraux Anthropises, F-17042 La Rochelle, France. 2 : Inst Littoral & Environm, Ctr Rech Mammiferes Marins, F-17000 La Rochelle, France. 3 : Groupe d’Etude des Cétacés de Méditerranée, Clinique Vétérinaire du Redon, 13 Bd du Redon, 13009 Marseille, France 4 : Univ Aberdeen, Sch Biol Sci, Dept Zool, Aberdeen ABZ4 2TZ, Scotland. |
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| Source | Marine Pollution Bulletin (0025-326X) (Elsevier), 2006-10 , Vol. 52 , N. 10 , P. 1219-1230 | ||||||||
| DOI | 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2006.02.020 | ||||||||
| WOS© Times Cited | 37 | ||||||||
| Keyword(s) | Exposure, Diet, Cadmium, Mercury, Tursiops truncatus, Stenella coeruleoalba | ||||||||
| Abstract | This study aimed at comparing toxic element (Hg, Cd) bioaccumulation in relation to age for bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus) and striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) from Mediterranean and Atlantic waters. Metal concentrations were also measured in selected prey to infer metal exposure through the diet. As expected, Mediterranean prey exhibited the highest Hg levels, probably as a consequence of the Hg enrichment of the Mediterranean Sea. Comparing the predators from each area and taking age into account, Mediterranean bottlenose dolphins displayed higher Hg levels than Atlantic dolphins (p = 0.032), whereas Mediterranean striped dolphins did not (p = 0.691). The consumption of Myctophid fish, which showed the highest Hg levels (105 +/- 80 ng g(-1) w.wt.) among Atlantic prey, may explain the high Hg levels in the liver of the Atlantic striped dolphins and suggested a preferential offshore feeding behaviour in this area. Concerning Cd, no clear differences were found between geographical areas. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. | ||||||||
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