part Part I Implications of contaminants for marine mammal health -- chapter 1 Pathology of marine mammals with special reference to infectious diseases / chapter 2 Contaminants and marine mammal immunotoxicology and pathology / chapter 3 Reproductive and developmental effects of environmental organochlorines on marine mammals / chapter 4 Effects of environmental contaminants on the endocrine system of marine mammals / chapter 5 Opportunities for environmental contaminant research: What we can learn from marine mammals in human care / part PART II An overview of contamination of marine mammals and their environment -- chapter 6 Persistent ocean contaminants and marine mammals: A retrospective overview / chapter 7 Heavy metals in marine mammals / chapter 8 Persistent organic contaminants in Arctic marine mammals / chapter 9 Inorganic pollutants in Arctic marine mammals / chapter 10 Impacts of algal toxins on marine mammals / chapter 11 Toxicology of sirenians / part Part III Cetaceans -- chapter 12 Cetaceans and contaminants / chapter 13 Pathology of cetaceans. A case study: Beluga from the St. Lawrence estuary / chapter 14 Immune status of St. Lawrence estuary beluga whales / chapter 15 Evaluation of genotoxic effects of environmental contaminants in cells of marine mammals, with particular emphasis on beluga whales / chapter 16 Mechanisms of aromatic hydrocarbon toxicity: implications for cetacean morbidity and mortality / chapter 17 Ecotoxicological investigations of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) strandings: Accumulation of persistent organic chemicals and metals / part Part IV Pinnipeds -- chapter 18 Global temporal trends of organochlorines and heavy metals in pinnipeds / chapter 19 Pathology in Baltic grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) in relation to environmental exposure to endocrine disruptors / chapter 20 The immune system, environmental contaminants and virus-associated mass mortalities among pinnipeds / chapter 21 The effects of chemical contaminants on immune functions in harbour seals: Results of a semi-?eld study / chapter 22 Immunotoxicology of free-ranging pinnipeds: Approaches to study design / part Part V Perspectives for the future -- chapter 23 Conclusions and perspectives for the future