ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Conservation and Sustainability
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1554075
Comparing phthalate exposure between bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) residing in urban and rural environments
Provisionally accepted
Miranda K Dziobak1,2*
Tita Curtin1
Randall S Wells3
Ryan Takeshita4
Cynthia Smith4Eric Zolman4Amanda Moors5Christina N Toms3,6
Robyn F Allen3
Leslie B Hart1- 1College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina, United States
- 2University of South Carolina, Columbia, Missouri, United States
- 3Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, Chicago Zoological Society, Sarasota, Florida, United States
- 4National Marine Mammal Foundation, San Diego, California, United States
- 5National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States
- 6New College of Florida, Sarasota, Florida, United States
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Exposure to phthalate esters has previously been documented in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) inhabiting an urban estuary (Sarasota Bay, FL, USA;2010-2019). Phthalates are chemicals commonly added to plastic products and consumer goods to enhance qualities such as flexibility, fragrance, and stability. These chemicals are known to leach out of plastic products and into the marine environment, leaving wildlife vulnerable to reproductive, developmental, and metabolic health effects. Environmental phthalate exposure has been shown to vary relative to human activity and urbanization. To evaluate potential differences in dolphin exposure risk, urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations were compared between free-ranging bottlenose dolphins from an urban (Sarasota Bay, FL, USA; 2010-2023; n= 71) and rural estuary (Barataria Bay, LA, USA; 2011-2023; n = 45). The magnitude of MEHP detection did not differ significantly between sampling sites (p = 0.97); however, MEHP was detected more frequently in Sarasota Bay dolphins (73.24%; n=52; 95% CI: 61.20-82.73) than Barataria Bay dolphins (33.33%; n = 15; 95% CI: 20.00 -48.95%). Further, dolphins from Sarasota Bay may be exposed to a greater diversity of phthalates compared to Barataria Bay dolphins as indicated by differences in the detected phthalate metabolite profile. Notably, Barataria dolphins were also affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, warranting additional studies of potential phthalate sources and health implications among these dolphins.
Keywords: Marine mammal, pollution, Sarasota Bay, Barataria Bay, Plastic
Received: 31 Dec 2024; Accepted: 09 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Dziobak, Curtin, Wells, Takeshita, Smith, Zolman, Moors, Toms, Allen and Hart. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Miranda K Dziobak, College of Charleston, Charleston, 29424, South Carolina, United States
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