[en] The objective of this study was to assess the levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury (T-Hg) in the blubber and skin, respectively, of the free-ranging bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, from the Normanno-Breton Gulf, one of the largest identified coastal population in Europe.
Among all the POPs analysed in this study, the ∑NDL-PCBs were the most abundant compounds found in the blubber (mean: 1.33x105 – 0.65x105 ng.g-1 lipid weight (lw) for males and females respectively), followed by ∑DDX (1.11x104 – 4.67x103 ng.g-1 lw) > ∑DL-PCBs (8.06 x103– 2.62 x103ng.g-1 lw)> ∑PBDEs (1.95 x103– 0.64 x103ng.g-1 lw) > dieldrin (1.86 x103– 0.18 x103 ng.g-1 lw) > ∑endosulfan (405– 62 ng.g-1 lw) > HCB (86 – 52 ng.g-1 lw) > ∑HCHs (47 – 60 ng.g-1 lw) > ∑chlordane (24 – 0.97 ng.g-1 lw) > ∑PCDFs (0.3 – 0.1 ng.g-1 lw) > ∑PCDDs (0.06 – 0.05 ng.g-1 lw).
The T-Hg concentrations were highly variable between individuals (2.45 x103 ng.g-1 to 21.3 x103 ng.g-1 dry weight, dw). The reported concentrations are among the highest reported for cetaceans. We strongly recommend that the Normanno-Breton Gulf be a special area of conservation (cSAC) candidate because it contains the last large European population of bottlenose dolphins (rare or threatened within a European context) designated under the EC Habitats Directive.
Research center :
FOCUS - Freshwater and OCeanic science Unit of reSearch - ULiège
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