Concentrations of bisphenols and phthalate esters in the muscle of Mediterranean striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba)

Morgana Vighi; Asunción Borrell; Wissam Sahyoun; Sopheak Net; Alex Aguilar; Baghdad Ouddane; Odei Garcia-Garin

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139686

Concentrations of bisphenols and phthalate esters in the muscle of Mediterranean striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba)

Chemosphere. 2023 Oct:339:139686. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139686. Epub 2023 Aug 4.

Authors

Morgana Vighi¹, Asunción Borrell², Wissam Sahyoun³, Sopheak Net³, Alex Aguilar², Baghdad Ouddane³, Odei Garcia-Garin²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology. University of Barcelona, 08028, Barcelona, Spain; Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio). University of Barcelona, 08028, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: morgana.vighi@gmail.com.
² Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology. University of Barcelona, 08028, Barcelona, Spain; Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio). University of Barcelona, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
³ Université de Lille, Faculté des Sciences et Technologies, Laboratoire LASIRE (UMR 8516 CNRS), Cité Scientifique, 59655, Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France.

PMID: 37544523
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139686

Abstract

Bisphenols (BPs) and phthalate esters (PAEs) are important compounds for the plastics industry, also called "everywhere chemicals" due to their ubiquity in daily use products. Both chemical groups are well-known environmental contaminants, whose presence has been reported in all environmental compartments, and whose effects, mainly associated to endocrine disruption, are detrimental to living organisms. Cetaceans, due to their long life-span, low reproduction rate and high position in the trophic web, are especially vulnerable to the effects of contaminants. However, little is known about BP and PAE concentrations in cetacean tissues, their potential relation to individual biological variables, or their trends over time. Here, the concentration of 10 BPs and 13 PAEs was assessed in the muscle of 30 striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) stranded along the Spanish Catalan coast (NW Mediterranean) between 1990 and 2018. Six BP and 6 PAE compounds were detected, of which only 4,4'-(cyclohexane-1,1-diyl)diphenol (BPZ) was detected in all the samples, at the highest concentration (mean 16.06 μg g^-1 lipid weight). Sex or reproductive condition were largely uninfluential on concentrations: only dimethylphthalate (DMP) concentrations were significantly higher in immature individuals than in adults, and the overall PAE concentrations were significantly higher in males than in females. Temporal variations were only detected in bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethane (BPE), diethylphthalate (DEP) and dimethylphthalate (DMP), whose concentrations were lower, and 9,9-Bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)fluorene (BPFL), which were higher, respectively, in samples taken between 2014 and 2018, probably reflecting shifts in the production and use of these chemicals. These results provide the first assessment of concentrations of several BP and PAE compounds in the muscle of an odontocete cetacean.

Keywords: Cetaceans; Contamination; Marine mammals; Plastic additives; Plasticizers; Pollutants.

MeSH terms

Animals
Esters
Female
Male
Muscles
Stenella*

Substances

phthalic acid
dimethyl phthalate
bisphenol A
Esters