Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are organic compounds ubiquitous in the environment and known for their toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic effects. These compounds can bioaccumulate in the biota and be transferred through trophic webs. The franciscana dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei), as top predators, can be an environmental sentinels. Thus, this study aimed to provide data about PAHs concentration in their hepatic tissue collected on the coast of Espírito Santo (Franciscana Management Area, FMA Ia), Rio de Janeiro (FMA IIa), and São Paulo states (FMA IIb), in Southeastern Brazil. PAHs were detected in 86 % of franciscana dolphins (n = 50). The highest ∑PAHs median concentration was reported in FMA Ia followed by FMA IIb and FMA IIa (1055.6; 523.9, and 72.1 ng.g lipid weight, respectively). Phenanthrene was detected in one fetus and two neonates, showing maternal transfer of PAHs in these dolphins. Evaluating PAHs with potential toxic effects is of utmost importance for the conservation of a threatened species.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116455 | DOI Listing |
Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom
March 2025
Chemical Sciences Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
Rationale: Wildlife scientists are quantifying steroid hormones in a growing number of tissues and employing novel methods that must undergo validation before application. This study tested the accuracy and precision of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods for use on blubber samples from short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus). We expanded upon a method for corticosteroid quantification by adding analytes and optimizing internal standard (IS) application.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnimals (Basel)
January 2025
Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE-PSL, Université des Antilles, 75005 Paris, France.
The common bottlenose dolphin () exhibits significant intraspecific diversity globally, with distinct ecotypes identified in various regions. In the Guadeloupe archipelago, the citizen science NGO OMMAG has been monitoring these dolphins for over a decade, documenting two distinct morphotypes. This study investigates whether these morphotypes represent coastal and oceanic ecotypes, which have not been previously identified in the region.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJASA Express Lett
January 2025
Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Bohdana Khmel'nyts'koho Street, 15, Kyiv 02000, Ukraine.
Dolphin and porpoise detections by the F-POD are not independent: Implications for sympatric species monitoring, Cosentino, Marcolin, Griffiths, Sánchez-Camí, and Tougaard [(2024). JASA Express Lett. 4, 031202] address a significant issue, the reliability of the discrimination of dolphins and porpoises in recordings of their acoustic clicks by F-POD loggers, but unfortunately present a misleading interpretation of the process and results.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEcol Evol
January 2025
Whale and Dolphin Conservation Adelaide South Australia Australia.
Understanding population demography of threatened species and how they vary in relation to natural and anthropogenic stressors is essential for effective conservation. We used a long-term photographic capture-recapture dataset (1993-2020) of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins () in the highly urbanised Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary (ADS), South Australia, to estimate key demographic parameters and their variability over time. These parameters were analysed in relation to environmental variables used as indicators of local and large-scale climatic events.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiol Lett
January 2025
Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8601, Japan.
Despite numerous studies on the rise and fall of terrestrial megafauna in the late Quaternary, knowledge about marine megafauna from this period remains limited. In this study, we performed radiocarbon dating and partial mitochondrial DNA sequencing from the skeletal remains of three species of small odontocetes (Pacific white-sided dolphins, Dall's porpoises and harbour porpoises) excavated from prehistoric archaeological sites around the Japanese shore dating back to 8500-1000 years ago (ya). Pacific white-sided dolphins that habituated the eastern coast of Hokkaido around 2000 ya belonged to different maternal groups than those from over 5000 ya and today.
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