Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-r6qrq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T00:00:55.868Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Nassarius reticulatus (Nassariidae: Gastropoda) as an indicator of tributyltin pollution before and after TBT restrictions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

G. W. Bryan ,
G. R. Burt ,
P. E. Gibbs  and
P. L. Pascoe
G. W. Bryan
Affiliation:
Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, PL1 2PB
G. R. Burt
Affiliation:
Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, PL1 2PB
P. E. Gibbs
Affiliation:
Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, PL1 2PB
P. L. Pascoe
Affiliation:
Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, PL1 2PB
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Between 1984 and 1993, levels of imposex (the induction of male characters including a penis on females) were measured in gastropods Nassarius (Hinia) reticulatus (L.) at localities in south-west England. Since tributyltin (TBT) was thought to cause imposex, concentrations in tissues and sea-water were also determined. Measurements made prior to the restriction of TBT usage in 1987 showed that intensities of imposex were related to TBT levels in females. Tissue concentrations were also related to those of sea-water and concentration factors (dry tissue/water) were approximately 30,000 at 10 ng Sn I-1 and 75,000 at 1 ng Sn I-1. Penis development in females was initiated at about 1 ng Sn I-1 and in this respect JV. reticulatus appears less sensitive to TBT than the dog-whelk Nucella lapillus.

As result of the TBT restrictions, concentrations in sea-water and tissues at some of the more polluted sites decreased by factors of 5–10 times between 1987 and 1993. However, population imposex declined very slowly. This was attributed to the longevity of the snails, the slow decline of penis-length in older females and the limited recruitment of less-affected females.

It was concluded that N. reticulatus is a useful alternative to N. lapillus as an imposex-based TBT indicator at contaminated sites. However, when environmental TBT concentrations are declining fairly rapidly, analysis of N. reticulatus tissues provides a far better indication of change than measurements of population imposex.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 73 , Issue 4 , November 1993 , pp. 913 - 929
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alvarez, M.M.S. & Ellis, D.V., 1990. Widespread neogastropod imposex in the north-east Pacific: implications for TBT contamination surveys. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 21, 244–247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bailey, S.K. & Davies, I.M., 1989. The effects of tributyltin on dogwhelks (Nucella lapillus) from Scottish coastal waters. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 69, 335–354.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blaber, S.J.M., 1970. The occurrence of a penis-like outgrowth behind the right tentacle in spent females of Nucella lapillus (L.). Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London, 39, 231–233.Google Scholar
Bright, D.A. & Ellis, D. V., 1990. A comparative survey of imposex in north-east Pacific neogastropods (Prosobranchia) related to tributyltin contamination, and choice of a suitable bioindicator. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 8, 1915–1924.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryan, G.W. & Gibbs, P.E., 1991. Impact of low concentrations of tributyltin (TBT) on marine organisms: a review. In Metal ecotoxicology: concepts and applications (ed. M.C., Newman and A.W., Mclntosh), pp. 323–361. Ann Arbor: Lewis Publishers.Google Scholar
Bryan, G.W., Gibbs, P.E. & Burt, G.R., 1988. A comparison of the effectiveness of tri-n-butyltin chloride and five other organotin compounds in promoting the development of imposex in the dog-whelk, Nucella lapillus. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 68, 733–744.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryan, G.W., Gibbs, P.E., Burt, G.R. & Hummerstone, L.G., 1987. The effects of tributyltin (TBT) accumulation on adult dog-whelks, Nucella lapillus: long-term field and laboratory experiments. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 67, 525–544.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryan, G.W., Gibbs, P.E., Huggett, R.J., Curtis, L.A., Bailey, D.S. & Dauer, D.M., 1989. Effects of tributyltin pollution on the mud snail, Ilyanassa obsoleta, from the York River and Sarah Creek, Chesapeake Bay. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 20, 458–462.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryan, G.W., Gibbs, P.E., Hummerstone, L.G. & Burt, G.R., 1986. The decline of the gastropod Nucella lapillus around south-west England: evidence for the effect of tributyltin from antifouling paints. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 66, 611–640.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, D.V. & Pattisina, L.A., 1990. Widespread neogastropod imposex: a biological indicator of global TBT contamination? Marine Pollution Bulletin, 21, 248–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Féal, C, 1980., Variations dans l'évolution du tractus génital mâle externe des femelles de trois gastéropodes prosobranches gonochoriques de stations Atlantiques. Cahiers de Biologie Marine, 21, 479–491.Google Scholar
Fioroni, P., Oehlmann, J. & Stroben, E., 1991. The pseudohermaphroditism of prosobranchs: morphological aspects. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 226, 1–26.Google Scholar
Gibbs, P.E. & Bryan, G.W., 1986. Reproductive failure in populations of the dog-whelk, Nucella lapillus, caused by imposex induced by tributyltin from antifouling paints. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 66, 767–777.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibbs, P.E., Bryan, G. W., Pascoe, P.L. & Burt, G.R., 1987. The use of the dog-whelk, Nucella lapillus, as an indicator of tributyltin (TBT) contamination. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 67, 507–523.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibbs, P.E., Pascoe, P.L. & Burt, G.R., 1988. Sex change in the female dog-whelk, Nucella lapillus, induced by tributyltin from antifouling paints. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 68, 715–731.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Houston, R.S., 1971. Reproductive biology of Thais emarginata (Deshayes, 1939) and Thais canaliculata (Duclos, 1832). Veliger, 13, 348–357.Google Scholar
Jenner, M.G., 1979. Pseudohermaphroditism in llyanassa obsoleta (Mollusca: Neogastropoda). Science, New York, 205, 1407–1409.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laughlin, R.B. Jr. & Linden, O., 1987. Tributyltin- contemporary environmental issues. Ambio, 16, 252–256.Google Scholar
Maff, , 1992. Monitoring and surveillance of non-radioactive contaminants in the aquatic environment and activities regulating the disposal of wastes at sea, 1990. Aquatic Environment Monitoring Report. Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food, Directorate of Fisheries Research, Lowestoft, 30, 66 pp.Google Scholar
Poli, G., Salvat, B. & Streiff, W., 1971. Aspect particulier de la sexualité chez Ocenebra erinacea (Mollusque, Gastéropode, Prosobranche). Haliotis, 1, 29–30.Google Scholar
Short, J.W., Rice, S.D., Brodersen, C.C. & Stickle, W.B., 1989. Occurrence of tri-n-butyltin-caused imposex in the North Pacific marine snail Nucella lima in Auke Bay, Alaska. Marine Biology, 102, 291–297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, B.S., 1971. Sexuality in the American mud snail, Nassarius obsoletus Say. Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London, 39, 377–378.Google Scholar
Smith, B.S., 1981a. Male characteristics on female mud snails caused by antifouling bottom paints. Journal of Applied Toxicology, 1, 22–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, B.S., 1981b. Tributyltin compounds induce male characteristics on female mud snails Nassarius obsoletus =Ilyanassa obsoleta. Journal of Applied Toxicology, 1, 141–144.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stewart, C., De, Mora S.J., Jones, M.R.L. & Miller, M.C., 1992. Imposex in New Zealand neogastropods. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 24, 204–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stroben, E., Oehlmann, J. & Fioroni, P., 1992a. The morphological expression of imposex in Hinia reticulata (Gastropoda: Buccinidae): a potential indicator of tributyltin pollution. Marine Biology, 113, 625–636.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stroben, E., Oehlmann, J. & Fioroni, P., 1992b. Hinia reticulata and Nucella lapillus. Comparison of two gastropod tributyltin bioindicators. Marine Biology, 114, 289–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tallmark, B., 1980. Population dynamics of Nassarius reticulatus (Gastropoda, Prosobranchia) in Gullmar Fjord, Sweden. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 3, 51–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waite, M.E., Waldock, M.J., Thain, J.E., Smith, D.J. & Milton, S.M., 1991. Reductions in TBT concentrations in UK estuaries following legislation in 1986 and 1987. Marine Environmental Research, 32, 89–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waldock, M.J., Thain, J.E. & Waite, M.E., 1987. The distribution and potential toxic effects of TBT in UK estuaries during 1986. Applied Organometallic Chemistry, 1, 287–301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar