Biological and ecological traits rather than geography control mercury (Hg) in scutes of marine turtles from the Southwest Atlantic.

The use of sentinel species in monitoring programs for toxic metals such as mercury (Hg) is essential to understand these pollutants' impact on the environment. For this purpose, it is essential to use organisms that have a lifespan compatible with the residence time of Hg in the oceans, and preferably with a wide geographical distribution, such as sea turtles. Here, we assess the regional variability of Hg concentrations using carapace scutes of four sea turtle species along the foraging and spawning area in the northeast coastline of Brazil.