Trace elements in tissues of cetacean species rarely stranded along the Israeli Mediterranean coast

Efrat Shoham-Frider; Dan Kerem; Mia Roditi-Elasar; Oz Goffman; Danny Morick; Olga Yoffe; Nurit Kress

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.03.017

Trace elements in tissues of cetacean species rarely stranded along the Israeli Mediterranean coast

Mar Pollut Bull. 2014 Jun 15;83(1):376-82. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.03.017. Epub 2014 Mar 27.

Authors

Efrat Shoham-Frider¹, Dan Kerem², Mia Roditi-Elasar³, Oz Goffman⁴, Danny Morick⁵, Olga Yoffe⁶, Nurit Kress⁷

Affiliations

¹ Israel Oceanography and Limnological Research, National Institute of Oceanography, Tel-Shikmona, P.O. Box 8030, Haifa 31080, Israel. Electronic address: efrat@ocean.org.il.
² Israel Marine Mammal Research and Assistance Center, The Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies and Department for Maritime Civilizations, The University of Haifa, Mt. Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel. Electronic address: dankerem@research.haifa.ac.il.
³ Israel Marine Mammal Research and Assistance Center, The Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies and Department for Maritime Civilizations, The University of Haifa, Mt. Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel. Electronic address: elasar.ma@gmail.com.
⁴ Israel Marine Mammal Research and Assistance Center, The Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies and Department for Maritime Civilizations, The University of Haifa, Mt. Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel. Electronic address: ogoffman@gmail.com.
⁵ Israel Marine Mammal Research and Assistance Center, The Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies and Department for Maritime Civilizations, The University of Haifa, Mt. Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel; Department of Pathology, The Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem 91120, Israel. Electronic address: dannymorick@gmail.com.
⁶ Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel St., Jerusalem 95501, Israel. Electronic address: olga.yoffe@gsi.gov.il.
⁷ Israel Oceanography and Limnological Research, National Institute of Oceanography, Tel-Shikmona, P.O. Box 8030, Haifa 31080, Israel. Electronic address: nurit@ocean.org.il.

PMID: 24680714
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.03.017

Abstract

In this paper we present the concentrations of Hg, Cd, Se, Pb, Cu, Mn, Zn and Fe in organs of 6 non-common specimens of cetaceans that were stranded along the Israeli Mediterranean coast (IMC), during 2002-2010: two fin whales, one minke whale, one Cuvier's beaked whale, one rough-toothed dolphin, and one Risso's dolphin. Most of the specimens were calves stranded by accident. Concentrations of Hg and Cd were low in tissues of the baleen whales and higher in the toothed whales, with maximum concentrations of 1067 mg kg(-1) Hg in the liver of the Risso's dolphin and 29 mg kg(-1) Cd in the kidney of the Cuvier's beaked whale. As far as we are aware, this is the first report of trace elements in baleen whales in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the first report of trace elements in minke whale and rough-toothed dolphin in the Mediterranean.

Keywords: Dolphins; Eastern Mediterranean; Stranding; Trace elements; Whales.

MeSH terms

Animals
Dolphins*
Female
Fin Whale*
Liver / chemistry
Male
Metals, Heavy / blood*
Minke Whale / blood*
Selenium / analysis
Trace Elements / blood*

Substances

Metals, Heavy
Trace Elements
Selenium