LAUSR

Abstract The Algerian mouse Mus spretus has been widely used as a biomonitor to assess environmental contamination, either in situ or ex situ. Knowledge on toxic effects of environmental pollutants on M. spretus greatly stems from multi-approach studies, in late 1990’s and early 2000’s, aiming at evaluating the acute and chronic environmental impacts generated by mining activities, in Spain and Portugal. These studies also identified several measures of overall fitness in mice as indicators of metal stress. More recent studies have pointed out for two promising pathways: the use of non-invasive and non-destructive endpoints aiming to protect wild populations; and the “omic” sciences. Overall, the set of studies carried out over the last 17 years (1998–2015) demonstrates the potential use of M. spretus as a sentinel species to detect environmental contamination, especially by mixtures of contaminants.