Sentinel Species

A sentinel species is an organism monitored to detect environmental change, contaminant exposure, or emerging hazards before they reach humans or the wider ecosystem. Marine examples include mussels in the long-running NOAA Mussel Watch program, which accumulate metals and organic pollutants in tissue, and bottlenose dolphins, whose tissue burdens and disease patterns track coastal pollution and biotoxins. Sentinels work because they bioaccumulate contaminants, occupy known niches, and respond measurably to stress. They underpin biomonitoring networks and the one-health link between ocean condition and public health.