Heavy metal concentration in tissues of stranded bottlenose dolphins in Northeast Florida, present day (2016-2021) compared to the 2013-2015 UME

Anthropogenic metal pollution in marine ecosystems is a growing concern. Metal contamination can cause developmental, metabolic, and reproductive problems in aquatic organisms; and potentially increase susceptibility to pathogenic infections. High metal loads could affect population levels. For example, lead and mercury are metals that are passed to offspring through a mother’s milk; thus, possibly contributing to the current decline of Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) stocks along the Atlantic Coast and Gulf of Mexico. Bottlenose dolphins are top coastal predators, ecologically important, popular for tourism/recreational activities, and indicators for environmental health. Baseline metal concentrations and levels at which metal toxicity occurs in dolphins are largely unknown and have never before been documented in Northeast Florida. The objective of this study is to measure concentrations of cadmium, copper, nickel, zinc, silver, selenium, and lead, in the blubber, muscle, liver, skin, and small intestine of stranded dolphins from 2016-2020 and temporally compare them to stranded dolphins from the 2013-2015 Unusual Mortality Event (UME). Element concentrations will be compared amongst the five tissues. This study will contribute new information on reference metal levels and metal accumulation in these charismatic and megafauna species.