Journal
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
Volume 390, Issue 2-3, Pages 569-578Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2007.10.036
Keywords
cetaceans; mercury; stable isotopes; trace elements; trophic position
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Mercury (total and organic), cadmium, lead, copper, iron, manganese, selenium and zinc concentrations were measured in different organs of 6 different cetacean species stranded in an area of extraordinary ecological interest (Cetaceans' Sanctuary of the Mediterranean Sea) along the coast of the Ligurian Sea (North-West Mediterranean). Stable-isotopes ratios of carbon (C-13/C-12) and nitrogen (N-15/N-14) were also measured in the muscle. A significant relationship exists between N-15/N-14, mercury concentration and the trophic level. The distribution of essential and non-essential trace elements was studied on several organs, and a significant relationship between selenium and mercury, with a molar ratio close to 1, was found in the cetaceans' kidney, liver and spleen, regardless of their species. High selenium concentrations are generally associated with a low organic to total mercury ratio. While narrow ranges of concentrations were observed for essential elements in most organs, mercury and selenium concentrations are characterised by a wide range of variation. Bio-accumulation and bio-amplification processes in cetaceans can be better understood by comparing trace element concentrations with the stable-isotopes data. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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