Recovery from TBT pollution in English Channel environments: A problem solved?
Following recognition of effects in the 1980s, tributyltin (TBT) has been monitored at sites in the English Channel to evaluate the prognosis for biota - spanning the introduction of restrictions on TBT use on small boats and the recent phase-out on the global fleet. We describe how persistence and impact of TBT in clams Scrobicularia plana has changed during this period in Southampton Water and Poole Harbour. TBT contamination (and loss) in water, sediment and clams reflects the abundance and type of vessel activity: half-times in sediment (up to 8y in Poole, 33y in Southampton) are longest near commercial shipping. Recovery of clam populations - slowest in TBT-contaminated deposits - provides a useful biological measure of legislative efficacy in estuaries. On rocky shores, recovery from imposex in Nucella lapillus is evident at many sites but, near ports, is prolonged by shipping impacts, including sediment legacy, for example, in the Fal.
Marine Biological Association, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK. Electronic address: wjl@mba.ac.uk.
W J
WJ
Langston
Marine Biological Association, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK.
N D
ND
Pope
Marine Biological Association, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK.
M
M
Davey
Marine Biological Association, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK.
K M
KM
Langston
Marine Biological Association, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK.
S C M
SC
O' Hara
Marine Biological Association, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK.
P E
PE
Gibbs
Marine Biological Association, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK.
P L
PL
Pascoe
D000818:Animals; D001530:Belgium; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000378:metabolism; D004739:England; D004777:Environment; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005602:France; D049851:Gastropoda / Q000378:metabolism; D012767:Ships; D014220:Trialkyltin Compounds / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D014220:Trialkyltin Compounds; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C011559:tributyltin
Dogwhelks; English Channel; Recovery; Scrobicularia plana; TBT