Liver heavy metal concentrations in UK-stranded harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) between February 2014 and April 2018.

This dataset contains data generated as part of the ChemPop NERC grant (NE/S000100/1) Marine Work Package aiming to determine the burdens and impacts of hazardous chemicals on cetaceans. The data were collected as part of the collaborative UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) which has been running since 1990 and is funded by Defra and the Devolved Administrations. The stranded harbour porpoises (Phocoena Phocoena) were located along the UK coastline, from February 2014 to April 2018. The dataset includes variables relating to where and when the animal stranded (National_Reference, Species, Date stranded, Latitude, Longitude, Location). The dataset also includes variables that were collected during post-mortem (PM) examination (Sex, Length, Age Group, Condition at PM, Cause of Death Category, Cause of Death Class, Body Weight, Girth, Dorsal blubber thickness, Lateral blubber thickness, Ventral blubber thickness). A Tissue variable is included to state which tissue underwent chemical analysis. There are variables for each of the trace elements, determined by Cefas, using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). For the trace element data there is also a variable for Total Solids, so the metal concentrations can be converted from a wet weight to a dry weight.