Author(s)

Marcelo Tardelli Rodrigues^1,2*, Eduardo Barros Fagundes Netto³, Rodrigo Cumplido¹, Ubirajara Goncalves de Melo Junior¹, David Braga Quintanilha¹, Eliane Teixeira Marsico⁴, Micheli da Silva Ferreira Ascoli⁴, Carlos Frederico Marques Guimaraes⁴

¹Programa Associado de Pós-Graduacao em Biotecnologia Marinha (PPGBM), Instituto de Estudos do Mar Almirante Paulo Moreira (IEAPM) and Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Arraial do Cabo-RJ, Brazil.
²Instituto Federal de Educacao, Ciência e Tecnologia Fluminense (IFF)/Campus Cabo Frio, Laboratório de Ecotoxicologia e Microbliologia Ambiental (LEMAM), Cabo Frio-RJ, Brazil.
³Instituto de Estudos do Mar Almirante Paulo Moreira (IEAPM), Departamento de Oceanografia, Divisao de Oceanografia Biológica, Arraial do Cabo-RJ, Brazil.
⁴Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Centro de Ciências Médicas (CCM), Faculdade de Veterinária (CMV), Departamento de Tecnologia de Alimentos (MTA), Laboratório de Controle Físico-Químico de Alimentos (LCFQA), Niterói-RJ, Brazil.
⁴Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Centro de Ciências Médicas (CCM), Faculdade de Veterinária (CMV), Departamento de Tecnologia de Alimentos (MTA), Laboratório de Controle Físico-Químico de Alimentos (LCFQA), Niterói-RJ, Brazil.

This study aims to present records of southern sea lions (Otaria flavescens) on the coast of Arraial do Cabo, located on the east coast of Rio de Janeiro State, southeastern Brazil, and information on the levels of total mercury (THg) found in muscle tissue of a specimen collected in the study area. Between July 2003 and February 2017, 5 occurrences of southern sea lions were recorded in the study area. Four of these records were of live animals, while one was of a carcass in advanced state of decomposition. In relation to the concentrations of THg found in the muscle tissue of the analyzed individual, they ranged from 0.047 to 0.067 mg/kg, with a mean value found of 0.057 mg/kg, a standard deviation of 0.010 and a coefficient of variation of 17.5%.

Records, Mercury, Southern Sea Lion

Rodrigues, M. , Netto, E. , Cumplido, R. , Junior, U. , Quintanilha, D. , Marsico, E. , Ascoli, M. and Guimaraes, C. (2019) Records of Southern Sea Lion (Otaria flavescens) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Otariidae) and Total Mercury (THg) Levels in Muscle Tissue of a Specimen on the East Coast of Rio de Janeiro State, Southeastern Brazil. Open Access Library Journal, 6, 1-14. doi: 10.4236/oalib.1105290.