The current situation of inorganic elements in marine turtles: A general review and meta-analysis * Adriana A. Cort  es-G  omez a, b, * , Diego Romero b , Marc Girondot a a Laboratoire  Ecologie, Syst ematique et  Evolution, Universit e Paris-Sud, AgroParisTech, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Universit e Paris Saclay, 91405 Orsay, France b  Area de Toxicología, Facultad de Veterinaria. Campus Regional de Excelencia Internacional “Campus Mare Nostrum”. Universidad de Murcia, E-30071 Murcia, Spain article info Article history: Received 12 February 2017 Received in revised form 22 June 2017 Accepted 24 June 2017 Keywords: Bioaccumulation Marine turtles Inorganic elements Meta-analysis Metals abstract Inorganic elements (Pb, Cd, Hg, Al, As, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Se and Zn) are present globally in aquatic systems and their potential transfer to marine turtles can be a serious threat to their health status. The environmental fate of these contaminants may be traced by the analysis of turtle tissues. Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) are the most frequently investigated of all the sea turtle species with regards to inorganic elements, followed by Green turtles (Chelonia mydas); all the other species have considerably fewer studies. Literature shows that blood, liver, kidney and muscle are the tissues most frequently used for the quantification of inorganic elements, with Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn being the most studied elements. Chelonia mydas showed the highest concentrations of Cr in muscle (4.8 ± 0.12), Cu in liver (37 ± 7) and Mg in kidney (17 mgg 1 ww), Cr and Cu from the Gulf of Mexico and Mg from Japanese coasts; Lep- idochelys olivacea presented the highest concentrations of Pb in blood (4.46 5) and Cd in kidney (150 ± 110 mgg 1 ww), both from the Mexican Pacific; Caretta caretta from the Mediterranean Egyptian coast had the highest report of Hg in blood (0.66 ± 0.13 mgg 1 ww); and Eretmochelys imbricata from Japan had the highest concentration of As in muscle (30 ± 13 13 mgg 1 ww). The meta-analysis allows us to examine some features that were not visible when data was analyzed alone. For instance, Leatherbacks show a unique pattern of concentration compared to other species. Additionally, contamination of different tissues shows some tendencies independent of the species with liver and kidney on one side and bone on the other being different from other tissues. This review provides a general perspective on the accumulation and distribution of these inorganic elements alongside existing information for the 7 sea turtle species. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Inorganic pollutants are present in aquatic ecosystems world- wide, deriving from natural sources but also from their extensive anthropic use in agriculture and industry (elements such as Pb, Cd, Hg, Al, As, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Se and Zn). Coastal and marine contamination is increasing around the world, but the environ- mental levels of many contaminants which can elicit adverse effects is largely unknown for marine megafauna (cites). Bio- accumulation of these toxic substances has become a concern due to the possibility of their transfer to the food chain and its impact on diverse species of marine wildlife, including marine turtles (Camacho et al., 2014a; Ley-Qui ~ n onez et al., 2011; Storelli and Marcotrigiano, 2003). A better understanding of pollution of ma- rine ecosystems and the consequences for fauna is one of the pri- orities highlighted by sea turtle specialists from 13 countries in a recent synthesis of threats (Rees et al., 2016). The accumulation of inorganic elements, particularly non- essential ones (such as Cd, Hg and Pb), may alter normal immune functions and increase the incidence of infectious illnesses in different species such as humans and marine turtles (D'Ilio et al., 2011; Finlayson et al., 2016; Rana, 2014). Several authors mention the importance of investigating the toxicological consequences of * This paper has been recommended for acceptance by Maria Cristina Fossi. * Corresponding author. Laboratoire  Ecologie, Syst ematique et  Evolution, Uni- versit e Paris-Sud, AgroParisTech, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Universit e Paris Saclay, 91405 Orsay, France. E-mail addresses: adriana.niobe@gmail.com (A.A. Cort es-G omez), diegorom@ um.es (D. Romero), marc.girondot@u-psud.fr (M. Girondot). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Environmental Pollution journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.06.077 0269-7491/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Environmental Pollution 229 (2017) 567e585