PM02 Metals in the Environment: Aquatic Biological Perspectives
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Monday, 10 November 2003
(PM058) Heavy Metals in Marine Turtles of Baja California.
fitzgerald, s1, gardner, s1, 1 CIBNOR (Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas del Noroeste), La Paz, Baja Cal Sur, Mexico
ABSTRACT- Heavy metals within tissue samples(kidney, liver, muscle and fat) from several species of sea turtles from the Baja Peninsula, Mexico were assessed and compared with data from other geographic regions. Trends of bioaccumulation were investigated, attempting to increase an understanding of how heavy metals are stored in these reptiles. As well, correlations between metals were explored with an effort to infer how certain coupled metals may be regulated within the body, i.e. are these coupled metals metallothionein-bound, or linked to another protein? Finally, interspecies comparisons were made, with a special interest in how feeding differences may ultimately lead to varying levels of metal accumulation.
Key words: sea turtles, heavy metals, baja california, mexico, wildlife toxicology