Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure drives measurable health declines in threatened sea turtles along the South Atlantic coast: a ten-year multi-regional assessment.

Chronic PAH exposure significantly reduces health in South Atlantic sea turtles, with notable declines linked to specific PAHs like benzo[a]anthracene and anthracene.

• Why it matters: Understanding chemical stress impacts on marine wildlife is crucial for conservation, especially as coastal pollution from oil and urbanization intensifies along the Brazilian coast.
• What they did: The study analyzed 37 PAHs in tissues from 1,670 sea turtles across 19 regions over ten years, using a mixture modeling approach to assess associations with health indicators.
• The result: Findings show persistent PAH bioaccumulation correlates with lower health scores, especially in juveniles, emphasizing the need for mixture-based chemical monitoring to protect marine megafauna.