Mercury contamination of the striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba Meyen from the French Mediterranean coasts

Data are presented on the concentrations of mercury in 9 tissues and organs of 13 dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) found on beaches along the Mediterranean coast of France. In all the animals examined, the highest mercury concentrations were found in the liver, followed by lung, muscle, heart and brain. The results are compared in a table with those reported for other marine mammals. Possible sources of mercury in the sea, and the contribution of mercury to the death of the animals, are considered. There are 59 references.