Occurrence and distribution of PAHs in stranded dolphin tissues from the Northwestern Mediterranean

Type Article
Date 2023-06
Language English
Author(s) Dron Julien1, Wafo Emmanuel2, Boissery Pierre3, Dhermain Frank4, Bouchoucha Marc5, Chamaret Philippe1, Lafitte Daniel2
Affiliation(s) 1 : Institut Écocitoyen pour la Connaissance des Pollutions, Fos-sur-Mer, France
2 : Laboratoire de Chimie Analytique, Faculté de Pharmacie de la Timone, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France
3 : Agence de l'Eau, Rhône Méditerranée Corse, Agence de Marseille, France
4 : Miraceti–Connaissance et Conservation des Cétacés, Martigues, France
5 : Laboratoire Environnement Ressources Provence-Azur-Corse, IFREMER, La Seyne-sur-Mer, France
Source Marine Pollution Bulletin (0025-326X) (Elsevier BV), 2023-06 , Vol. 191 , P. 114898 (7p.)
DOI 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114898
Keyword(s) Striped dolphin, Bottlenose dolphin, PAHs, Mediterranean Sea, Bioaccumulation
Abstract

There are few cetacean tissue-specific polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentration studies in the Mediterranean, despite this region is among the most subjected to chemical contamination. PAH analyses were conducted in different tissues of striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba, N = 64) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus, N = 9) stranded along the French Mediterranean coastline from 2010 to 2016. Comparable levels were measured in S. coeruleoalba and T. trucantus (1020 and 981 ng g−1 lipid weight in blubber, 228 and 238 ng g−1 dry weight in muscle, respectively). The results suggested a slight effect of maternal transfer. The greatest levels were recorded by urban and industrial centers, and decreasing temporal trends were observed in males muscle and kidney, but not in other tissues. As a conclusion, the elevated levels measured could represent a serious threat to dolphins populations in this region, particularly by urban and industrial centers.

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