Evaluation of the ecotoxicological effects of POPs and heavy metals, reflecting pathological, microbiological and genetic analyses, on the Mekong River population of Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris)

For this report, samples of Irrawaddy River dolphins found dead along the Mekong River between 2006 and 2010 were analysed in different laboratories in Europe, Canada and Cambodia. The aim of the investigation was to gain additional knowledge on histological and toxicological findings as well as on the genetic variation of the Mekong population. The report summarizes those results in relation to previous investigations conducted in Cambodia and the United States of America.