Dan Kerem

Publications of Dan Kerem

• Persistent organochlorine pollutants and heavy metals in tissues of common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) from the Levantine Basin of the Eastern Mediterranean.

  Authors: Efrat Shoham-Frider, Nurit Kress, David Wynne, Aviad Scheinin, Mia Roditi-Elsar, Dan Kerem

  Chemosphere. 09/2009;

  DDT's, PCBs and heavy metals (HM) were measured in tissues of common bottlenose dolphins, collected along the Israeli Mediterranean coast during 2004-2006. SigmaDDT and PCBs concentrations wereDDT's, PCBs and heavy metals (HM) were measured in tissues of common bottlenose dolphins, collected along the Israeli Mediterranean coast during 2004-2006. SigmaDDT and PCBs concentrations were highest in the blubber, with a wide concentration range of 0.92-142 and 0.05-7.9mgkg(-1) wet weight, respectively. Blubber PCBs values were an order of magnitude lower than in tissues of this and other delphinid species in the Western Mediterranea. We found relatively high DDE/SigmaDDT percentage (85-96%); a common indicator of DDT degradation, which fitted the general trend of increase in the last 20years in the Mediterranean Sea, indicating the progressive degradation of the remnant DDT and the absence of new inputs. Concentrations of HM ranged as follows: 0.01-123mgkg(-1) wet weight for Hg, <0.04-1.3 for Cd, 1-30 for Cu, 0.3-4 for Mn, 19-517 for Fe, 4.3-68 for Zn and 2.4-48 for Ni. These concentrations were similar to those found in specimens collected during previous years in the region, suggesting stability over time in the HM levels of the basin's food-web.

• Laryngeal Snaring by Ingested Fishing Net in a Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Off the Israeli Shoreline.

  Authors: Alon M Levy, Ori Brenner, Aviad Scheinin, Dan Morick, Eliana Ratner, Oz Goffman, Dan Kerem

  Journal of wildlife diseases. 08/2009; 45(3):834-8.

  We report an unusual snaring of the larynx in an adult, female common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). The dolphin was observed swimming and diving in Haifa Port, Israel, but was found deadWe report an unusual snaring of the larynx in an adult, female common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). The dolphin was observed swimming and diving in Haifa Port, Israel, but was found dead the next day, 60 km south, on the coast. Postmortem examination revealed stranded-cordage, nylon filaments wrapped around the larynx, cutting through the soft tissue, and extending down into the forestomach, where a large mass of netting was found. The cachectic state of the dolphin and the subacute to chronic, hyper-plastic response of soft tissue surrounding the filaments lodged around the larynx, suggest a prolonged period of starvation, which led to the final weakness and wasting of the dolphin.

• Heavy metal levels in bottlenose and striped dolphins off the Mediterranean coast of Israel.

  Authors: Mia Roditi-Elasar, Dan Kerem, Hava Hornung, Nurit Kress, Efrat Shoham-Frider, Oz Goffman, Ehud Spanier

  Marine pollution bulletin. 05/2003; 46(4):503-12.