Issue 8, 2009

Spatial and temporal evolution of imposex in dogwhelk Nucella lapillus (L.) populations from North Wales, UK

Abstract

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 2.1ng 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.

Graphical abstract: Spatial and temporal evolution of imposex in dogwhelk Nucella lapillus (L.) populations from North Wales, UK

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
03 Apr 2009
Accepted
18 Jun 2009
First published
06 Jul 2009

J. Environ. Monit., 2009,11, 1462-1468

Spatial and temporal evolution of imposex in dogwhelk Nucella lapillus (L.) populations from North Wales, UK

I. B. Oliveira, C. A. Richardson, A. C. Sousa, S. Takahashi, S. Tanabe and C. M. Barroso, J. Environ. Monit., 2009, 11, 1462 DOI: 10.1039/B906766C

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