On behalf of my co-authors and I, I am pleased to share our latest publication on chemical pollution in marine mammals entitled “Spatiotemporal Trends Spanning Three Decades Show Toxic Levels of Chemical Contaminants in Marine Mammals”. The article is Open Access and has been published Environmental Science and Technology. The paper is available to read here

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.3c01881

 

 

Williams, R.S., Brownlow, A., Baillie, A., Barber, J.L., Barnett, J., Davison, N.J., Deaville, R., Ten Doeschate, M., Murphy, S., Penrose, R. and Perkins, M., 2023. Spatiotemporal Trends Spanning Three Decades Show Toxic Levels of Chemical Contaminants in Marine Mammals. Environmental Science & Technology.

 

Abstract

 

Despite their ban and restriction under the 2001 Stockholm Convention, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are still widespread and pervasive in the environment. Releases of these toxic and bioaccumulative chemicals are ongoing, and their contribution to population declines of marine mammals is of global concern. To safeguard their survival, it is of paramount importance to understand the effectiveness of mitigation measures. Using one of the world’s largest marine mammals strandings data sets, we combine published and unpublished data to examine pollutant concentrations in 11 species that stranded along the coast of Great Britain to quantify spatiotemporal trends over three decades and identify species and regions where pollutants pose the greatest threat. We find that although levels of pollutants have decreased overall, there is significant spatial and taxonomic heterogeneity such that pollutants remain a threat to biodiversity in several species and regions. Of individuals sampled within the most recent five years (2014–2018), 48% of individuals exhibited a concentration known to exceed toxic thresholds. Notably, pollutant concentrations are highest in long-lived, apex odontocetes (e.g., killer whales (Orcinus orca), bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), and white-beaked dolphins (Lagenorhynchus albirostris)) and were significantly higher in animals that stranded on more industrialized coastlines. At the present concentrations, POPs are likely to be significantly impacting marine mammal health. We conclude that more effective international elimination and mitigation strategies are urgently needed to address this critical issue for the global ocean health.

 

If you have any questions or would like to discuss the work then feel free to get in touch with me, the corresponding author, at rosie.williams@ioz.ac.uk.

 

Best wishes,

 

Rosie

Dr Rosie Williams

The Institute of Zoology

Zoological Society of London

Regent's Park, London, NW1 4RY

 

 

 

 

 



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