The Decline of the Gastropod Nucella Lapillus Around South-West England: Evidence for the Effect of Tributyltin from Antifouling Paints

Abstract

A survey of the gastropod Nucella lapillus around the south-west peninsula of England has revealed that the incidence of ‘imposex’, the induction of male sex characters in the female, is widespread, that all populations are affected to some degree and that the phenomenon is most prevalent along the south (Channel) coast. Populations close to centres of boating and shipping activity show the highest degrees of imposex, especially those within the vicinities of the Helford, Fal, Salcombe and Dart estuaries and in Plymouth Sound and Tor Bay. Within Plymouth Sound the degree of imposex increased markedly between 1969 and 1985, coinciding with the introduction and increasing usage of antifouling paints containing tributyltin (TBT) compounds.

A multibiomarker approach in the clam Ruditapes decussatus to assess the impact of pollution in the Ria Formosa lagoon, South Coast of Portugal

“…Tributyltin (TBT) was measured in the whole soft tissue of clams (n ¼ 5) by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS AAnalyst 800 --Perkin Elmer), as described by Bryan et al (1986) and Langston et al (1987) and expressed as mg gÀ1 dry weight. Quality assurance was checked using a standard reference material (CMR477, Tributyltin in mussel tissue).…”

Recovery from TBT pollution in English Channel environments: A problem solved?

“…In contrast to TBT-induced imposex in neogastropods, which involves imposition of male sexual characteristics on females (Bryan et al, 1986;Ruiz et al, 2008;Galante-Oliveira, et al, 2009), there are no analogous reproductive structures (penis, vas deferens) in S.plana and therefore no comparable indices of masculinisation.…”

“…The coast of southwest England has many harbours and marinas which host considerable numbers of vessels and, as a result, dogwhelks Nucella lapillus were widely impacted by TBT-induced imposex during the 1980s (Bryan et al, 1986;Gibbs et al, 1987;Langston et al, 1990). Based on repeat sampling of N. lapillus in 2012-13, and using the same protocols, our aim was to establish rates of re-colonisation and recovery from imposex at some of these previously-sampled sites (Fig.…”

“…Imposex, the imposition of male characteristics (penis and vas deferens development) on females is initiated in N. lapillus by TBT concentrations as low as 0.5ng L -1 (Bryan et al, 1986.…”

Hydrobia ulvae imposex levels at Ria de Aveiro (NW Portugal) between 1998 and 2007: a counter-current bioindicator?

“…A well-known consequence of this pollution is imposex-the superimposition of male sexual characters onto prosobranch females 13 -which has been used as a biomarker of TBT environmental concentrations. [14][15][16][17] Three key indicator species have been used to monitor TBT pollution in Ria de Aveiro, namely: Nucella lapillus (L.), Nassarius reticulatus (L.) and Hydrobia ulvae (Pennant). In 1998, Barroso et al 3 recorded high levels of imposex in these species and the N. lapillus decreasing abundance from the system mouth inwards was attributed to the females' sterility caused by TBT.…”