title: The Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean marine mammals: Marine Protected Area (MPA) or marine polluted area? The case study of the striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba).
abstract: The concurrence of man-made pressures on cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea is potentially affecting population stability and marine biodiversity. This needs to be proven for the only pelagic marine protected area in the Mediterranean Sea: the Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals. Here we applied a multidisciplinary tool, using diagnostic markers elaborated in a statistical model to rank toxicological stress in Mediterranean cetaceans. As a case study we analyzed persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals combined with a wide range of diagnostic markers of exposure to anthropogenic contaminants and genetic variation as marker of genetic erosion in striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) skin biopsies. Finally, a statistical model was applied to obtain a complete toxicological profile of the striped dolphin in the Pelagos Sanctuary and other Mediterranean areas (Ionian Sea and Strait of Gibraltar). Here we provide the first complete evidence of the toxicological stress in cetaceans living in Pelagos Sanctuary.
authors: Department of Physical, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Siena, Via PA Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy. fossi@unisi.it
authors: Maria Cristina
authors: MC
authors: Fossi
authors: Cristina
authors: C
authors: Panti
authors: Letizia
authors: L
authors: Marsili
authors: Silvia
authors: S
authors: Maltese
authors: Giacomo
authors: G
authors: Spinsanti
authors: Silvia
authors: S
authors: Casini
authors: Ilaria
authors: I
authors: Caliani
authors: Stefania
authors: S
authors: Gaspari
authors: Juan
authors: J
authors: Muñoz-Arnanz
authors: Begoña
authors: B
authors: Jimenez
authors: Maria Grazia
authors: MG
authors: Finoia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D050706:Stenella / Q000378:metabolism*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical