Global mercury and selenium concentrations in skin from free-ranging sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus)

The skin of Commerson’s dolphins (Cephalorhynchus commersonii) as a biomonitor of mercury and selenium in Subantarctic waters

“…The low standard deviation (less than 20%; Tables 1a and 1b) indicates that [Se] is tightly regulated in this organ. In the studied Commerson's dolphin specimens, the skin [Se] ranged from 74 to 124 lg g À1 DW (22-37 lg g À1 WW), which is within the range of reported levels for the epidermis of dolphins and porpoises, 57-321 lg g À1 DW (17-96 lg g À1 WW; Augier et al, 1993;Monaci et al, 1998;Yang et al, 2002), and is in agreement with other studies (Dehn et al, 2006;Kunito et al, 2002;Lockhart et al, 2005;Savery et al, 2013a;Stavros et al, 2007).…”

“…Cetacean skin biopsies are recommended as a non-invasive tool for assessing the eco-toxicological risk of populations and to conduct long-term environmental monitoring programs (Bryan et al, 2007;Fossi et al, 2000;Savery et al, 2013a;Stavros et al, 2007Stavros et al, , 2011. Measuring Hg in the skin of piscivorous homeotherms is important to evaluate the exposure routes in marine environments and to assess the potential for toxicity to biota (Miller et al, 2011;Wöshner et al, 2008).…”

Crowdsourcing Modern and Historical Data Identifies Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) Habitat Offshore of South-Western Australia

“…Four datasets of sperm whale "presence" from 1735 to 2003 were examined (Figure 2). (2001)(2002) The primary dataset in this study is from the Voyage of the Odyssey-a 5-year, global, scientific expedition studying sperm whales and ocean pollution (Bohannon, 2004 Frontiers in Marine Science | www.frontiersin.orgbiopsies from sperm whales throughout the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans and Mediterranean Sea (Wise et al, 2009;Savery et al, 2013aSavery et al, ,b, 2014. Although primarily a toxicology voyage, other opportunistic research was conducted and included sightings Clark et al, 2012;De Vos et al, 2012), acoustic studies on sperm whales and other odontocetes (Madsen et al, 2002(Madsen et al, , 2004 and genetics (Alexander et al, 2016).…”

“…From December 2001 to May 2002, the RV Odyssey surveyed along 5200 km of ocean transects off the Perth Canyon, Albany Canyon, and offshore in the traditional Yankee whaling area (New Holland Grounds) when in transit to the Cocos Keeling Islands. The primary aim was to locate and track sperm whales using acoustic methods while they vocalized at depth, and, when they returned to the surface, obtain a tissue biopsy to analyse for chemical pollutants (Wise et al, 2009;Savery et al, 2013aSavery et al, ,b, 2014.…”

“…Biopsies were collected from free-ranging sperm whales with standard methods using a crossbow and a 50 mm stainless steel cylindrical biopsy dart with a floatation tip (Wise et al, 2009). Sample processing, storage, shipping and genetic analysis are explained in full in related toxicology studies (Wise et al, 2009;Savery et al, 2013aSavery et al, ,b, 2014.…”