Department of Physical, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Siena, Via PA Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2013 May 15;70(1-2):64-72. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.02.013. Epub 2013 Mar 5.
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.
地中海中海豚所面临的人为压力的并存可能正在影响其种群稳定性和海洋生物多样性。这需要在唯一的地中海海洋保护区——地中海海洋哺乳动物保护区（Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals）得到证明。在这里，我们应用了一种多学科工具，使用在统计模型中精心设计的诊断标志物来对地中海海豚的毒理学压力进行分级。作为案例研究，我们分析了持久性、生物累积性和有毒化学物质，以及一系列人为污染物暴露的诊断标志物和遗传变异作为海豚皮肤活检中遗传侵蚀的标志物。最后，应用统计模型得出了 Pelagos 保护区和其他地中海地区（爱奥尼亚海和直布罗陀海峡）的条纹海豚的完整毒理学概况。在这里，我们首次提供了生活在 Pelagos 保护区的海豚的毒理学压力的完整证据。
