Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-21T17:45:19.521Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Reproductive Failure in Populations of the Dog-Whelk, Nucella Lapillus, Caused by Imposex Induced by Tributyltin from Antifouling Paints

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

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

Extract

The development of male characters, notably a penis and a vas deferens, on the female (the phenomenon of ‘imposex’) of the dog-whelk, Nucella lapillus, is described. Three stages are recognized: an ‘early’ stage involving the formation of a vas deferens and a small penis, an ‘intermediate’ stage characterized by the enlargement of the female penis to a size approaching that of the male and a ‘late’ stage during which the female opening (vulva) is occluded by overgrowth of vas deferens tissue. This blockage of the pallial oviduct prevents the release of egg capsules and renders the female sterile. The extent and cause of such reproductive failure is evident from the high incidence of females containing aborted capsules in declining populations close to sources of tributyltin (TBT) contamination. These same populations comprise fewer females than expected and it would appear that the accumulation of aborted capsules within the pallial oviduct eventually causes the premature death of the female.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 66 , Issue 4 , November 1986 , pp. 767 - 777
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1986

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

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
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
Crothers, J. H., 1985. Dog-whelks: an introduction to the biology of Nucella lapillus (L.). Field Studies, 6, 291–360.Google Scholar
Feare, C. J., 1970. Aspects of the ecology of an exposed shore population of dogwhelks Nucella lapillus (L.). Oecologia, 5, 1–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fretter, V., 1941. The genital ducts of some British stenoglossan prosobranchs. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 25, 173–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fretter, V. & Graham, A., 1962. British Prosobranch Molluscs. London: Ray Society.Google Scholar
Lauckner, G., 1983. Diseases of Mollusca: Bivalvia. In Diseases of Marine Animals (ed. O., Kinne), pp. 477–961. Hamburg: Biologische Anstalt Helgoland.Google Scholar
Pechenik, J. A., Chang, S. C. & Lord, A., 1984. Encapsulated development of the marine prosobranch gastropod Nucella lapillus. Marine Biology, 78, 223–229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, B. S., 1980. The estuarine mud snail, Nassarius obsoletus: abnormalities in the reproductive system. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 46, 247–256.Google Scholar
Smith, B. S., 1981 a. Male characteristics on female mud snails caused by antifouling bottom paints. Journal of Applied Toxicology, 1, 22–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, B. S., 1981 b. Tributyltin compounds induce male characteristics on female mud snails Nassarius obsoletus =Ilyanassa obsoleta. Journal of Applied Toxicology, 1, 141–144.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed