Spatial and temporal evolution of imposex in dogwhelk Nucella lapillus (L.) populations from North Wales, UK.
Nucella lapillus imposex and organotin tissue contamination were assessed, during 2006, at twenty sites in North Wales, between Anglesey and Shell Island on the Lleyn Peninsula. Vas Deferens Sequence Index (VDSI), Relative Penis Size Index (RPSI) and the percentage of affected females (%I) were used to assess imposex levels which varied between 0.5 and 3.8 for VDSI, 0.0 and 11.5% for RPSI and 49 and 100% for %I. Tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPT) concentrations in whole tissues varied between 0.8 and 39 and 0.4 and 2.1 ng Sn/g dry weight, respectively. TBT represented the higher fraction of butyltin compounds in the tissues, suggesting that TBT inputs continue to occur. Comparisons with nineteen years of data collected during previous studies demonstrated that there had been a significant reduction in imposex levels over the last two decades following the introduction of legislative restrictions in the U.K. regarding the use of organotin based antifouling paints.
Oliveira
Isabel Benta
IB
Departamento de Biologia, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, Portugal. isabeloliveira@ua.pt
Richardson
Christopher Allan
CA
Sousa
Ana Catarina
AC
Takahashi
Shin
S
Tanabe
Shinsuke
S
Barroso
Carlos Miguez
CM
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003710:Demography; D012734:Disorders of Sex Development; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D049851:Gastropoda / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D008297:Male; D009947:Organotin Compounds / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D010413:Penis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000503:physiopathology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014220:Trialkyltin Compounds / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D014649:Vas Deferens / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000503:physiopathology; D014852:Wales; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity
D009947:Organotin Compounds; D014220:Trialkyltin Compounds; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C011559:tributyltin; C030665:triphenyltin