Eco-toxicants: A Growing Global Threat
Ecotoxicology is a constantly evolving discipline, and ecological risk assessments are required to estimate and predict threats and exposures before they occur. There is a critical need to obtain species- and site-specific data to determine toxicological
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Eco-toxicants: A Growing Global Threat Victoria Tornero, Teresa J. Sylvina, Randall S. Wells, and Jatinder Singh
Human–dolphin interactions. (Photograph provided by Randal S. Wells)
The author name Teresa J. Sylvina was also published as Taranjit Kaur V. Tornero (*) Stazione Zoologica Anton Dhorn di Napoli, Villa Comunale, 80121, Naples, Italy e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] T.J. Sylvina • J. Singh Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA R.S. Wells Chicago Zoological Society, c/o Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL, USA J. Yamagiwa and L. Karczmarski (eds.), Primates and Cetaceans: Field Research and Conservation of Complex Mammalian Societies, Primatology Monographs, DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-54523-1_16, © Springer Japan 2014
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Abstract Ecotoxicology is a constantly evolving discipline, and ecological risk assessments are required to estimate and predict threats and exposures before they occur. There is a critical need to obtain species- and site-specific data to determine toxicological sensitivities under prevailing environmental conditions and so mitigate the potential effects of pollutants on wildlife, particularly on species that are already endangered. Cetaceans are considered one of the most vulnerable organisms with respect to long-term toxicity of chemicals such as organochlorines and metals. Many studies have investigated the factors affecting the accumulation, metabolization, and potential harmful effects of such pollutants, but the question of whether chemical pollution is changing the dynamics of the populations is not yet resolved. In the case of primates, although extrapolations can be made to some extent with humans, the pollution levels and their effects in wild populations are largely unknown. The present chapter examines the main cetacean and primate features that might lead to differential vulnerability among individuals, populations, and species, and evaluates how behavioral patterns can influence exposure potential and outcomes. Furthermore, the role of pollutants as stressors of the ecological health and social systems of cetaceans and primates is explored by two case studies: the first case describes site fidelity of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Sarasota Bay (Florida, USA), despite the cumulative impacts that they face resulting from human activities, and the second case discusses manganese-induced neurotoxicity as a causal agent of cognitive, motor, and behavioral dysfunctions in cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis). Keywords Behavioral patterns • Case of study • Cetaceans • Chemical pollution • Metals • Organochlorines • Primates
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Introduction
The reliable assessment of the nature and magnitude of the impact of environmental contaminants on ecosystems has become essential for the successful management and conservation of wildlife populations. Among pollutants, organochlorine compounds (OCs) and toxic metals have bee
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