Date of Award
2019
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
Page-Karjian, Annie
Abstract
Anthropogenic contaminants in the marine environment often biodegrade slowly, bioaccumulate in organisms, and can cause reproductive, immune, and developmental effects on wildlife; however, their effects on cetacean health and behavior have not been extensively studied. This study aims to expand knowledge concerning concentrations and biological effects of endocrine disrupting contaminants and essential and non-essential inorganic elements in stranded cetaceans. We evaluated tissue samples and pathology data from 66 odontocetes that stranded in the southeastern United States during 2012– 2017. Using mass spectrometry blubber samples were analyzed for five endocrine disrupting contaminants (atrazine, bisphenol-A, diethyl phthalate, nonylphenol ethoxylate, triclosan), and liver samples were analyzed for 12 inorganic elements (As, Cd, Co, Cu, Mg, Mn, Fe, Pb, Hg, Se, Tl, Zn). Results from this study demonstrate that exposure to certain contaminants may be associated with subtle or sublethal cellular changes in free-ranging marine mammals that could contribute to health declines or stranding.
Extent
103 p.
Recommended Citation
Lo, Catherine Feng-Yu, "Anthropogenic Contaminants and Pathologic Trends in Stranded Cetaceans in the Southeastern United States, 2012–2017" (2019). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019. 2100.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_6/2100
Identifier
FA00013232
Comments
Includes bibliography.|Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2019.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.