Trace Elements in Stenella coeruleoalba: Assessment of Marine Environmental Pollution and Dolphin Health Status
Journal: Animals
Year: 2024

Heavy metals are environmental contaminants and can easily accumulate and biomagnify in various marine species (fishes and mammalians) at the top of the aquatic food chain. Among marine mammalians, the striped dolphin (<i>Stenella coeruleoalba</i>) is the most abundant cetacean in the Mediterranean Sea and is considered to be a sentinel species to monitor the environmental marine pollution. In this study, the contents of toxic metals and metalloids (Cd, Pb, Hg, and As), micro-elements (Ni, Cr, C