Chemical Pollution and the Population Crisis of Hector’s and Māui Dolphins. A Critical Research Bibliography, 1970–2026.
- 1Pollution and Diseases
Abstract
Background and objective. Hector’s dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori hectori) and the critically endangered Māui dolphin (C. h. maui) have declined amid documented bycatch, disease, habitat pressures, and chemical contamination. This study completes the bibliographic-reconstruction phase of a broader investigation into whether chemical exposure has been under-recognised as a causal, contributory, or synergistic threat. Methods. A maximum-coverage bibliography for 1970–22 June 2026 was compiled from official Department of Conservation bibliographies, the 2024 NOAA/NMFS review, primary and grey literature, New Zealand contaminant monitoring, the Paritutu/New Plymouth exposure corpus, comparative marine-mammal toxicology, pathology, demography, bycatch research, and risk-governance studies. Records were deduplicated, classified into five thematic layers, and 50 key sources were analytically annotated. Results. The corpus contains 388 unique records. Evidence confirms exposure to persistent organic pollutants and PFAS, trophic biomagnification, maternal transfer, and plausible immunotoxic and reproductive mechanisms. However, Māui-specific samples remain extremely small, modern PCDD/F coverage is limited, and no study links a defined source through internal dose and individual health effects to a quantified population outcome.
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BibTeX
@article{gibbs2026chemical,
title = {{Chemical Pollution and the Population Crisis of Hector’s and Māui Dolphins. A Critical Research Bibliography, 1970–2026.}},
author = {Andrew Gibbs and Dmitry Nikolaenko},
journal = {Pollution and Diseases},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.66659/ybmw2c82},
url = {https://doi.org/10.66659/ybmw2c82},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Chemical Pollution and the Population Crisis of Hector’s and Māui Dolphins. A Critical Research Bibliography, 1970–2026.
AU - Andrew Gibbs
AU - Dmitry Nikolaenko
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/24
JO - Pollution and Diseases
DO - 10.66659/ybmw2c82
UR - https://doi.org/10.66659/ybmw2c82
AB - Background and objective. Hector’s dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori hectori) and the critically endangered Māui dolphin (C. h. maui) have declined amid documented bycatch, disease, habitat pressures, and chemical contamination. This study completes the bibliographic-reconstruction phase of a broader investigation into whether chemical exposure has been under-recognised as a causal, contributory, or synergistic threat. Methods. A maximum-coverage bibliography for 1970–22 June 2026 was compiled from official Department of Conservation bibliographies, the 2024 NOAA/NMFS review, primary and grey literature, New Zealand contaminant monitoring, the Paritutu/New Plymouth exposure corpus, comparative marine-mammal toxicology, pathology, demography, bycatch research, and risk-governance studies. Records were deduplicated, classified into five thematic layers, and 50 key sources were analytically annotated. Results. The corpus contains 388 unique records. Evidence confirms exposure to persistent organic pollutants and PFAS, trophic biomagnification, maternal transfer, and plausible immunotoxic and reproductive mechanisms. However, Māui-specific samples remain extremely small, modern PCDD/F coverage is limited, and no study links a defined source through internal dose and individual health effects to a quantified population outcome.
SN - 3029-9039
ER -