Most current bioexposure assessments for UV filters focus on contaminants concentrations in fish from river and lake. To date there is not information available on the occurrence of UV filters in marine mammals. This is the first study to investigate the presence of sunscreen agents in tissue liver of Franciscana dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei), a species under special measures for conservation. Fifty six liver tissue samples were taken from dead individuals accidentally caught or found stranded along the Brazilian coastal area (six states). The extensively used octocrylene (2-ethylhexyl-2-cyano-3,3-diphenyl-2-propenoate, OCT) was frequently found in the samples investigated (21 out of 56) at concentrations in the range 89-782 ng·g(-1) lipid weight. São Paulo was found to be the most polluted area (70% frequency of detection). Nevertheless, the highest concentration was observed in the dolphins from Rio Grande do Sul (42% frequency of detection within that area). These findings constitute the first data reported on the occurrence of UV filters in marine mammals worldwide.

Franciscanas are the most endangered dolphins in the Southwestern Atlantic. Due to their coastal and estuarine habits, franciscanas suffer from extensive fisheries bycatch, as well as from habitat loss and degradation. Four Franciscana Management Areas (FMA), proposed based on biology, demography, morphology and genetic data, were incorporated into management planning and in the delineation of research efforts. We re-evaluated that proposal through the analysis of control region sequences from franciscanas throughout their distribution range (N = 162), including novel sequences from the northern limit of the species and two other previously unsampled localities in Brazil. A deep evolutionary break was observed between franciscanas from the northern and southern portions of the species distribution, indicating that they must be managed as two Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESU). Furthermore, additional FMAs should be recognised to accommodate the genetic differentiation found in each ESU. These results have immediate consequences for the conservation and management of this endangered species.

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