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

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 2.1 ng 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.