Pugilina morio L., a new imposex exhibitor from South American estuarine environments: approach for a non-lethal method to evaluate imposex

Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2012 Oct;89(4):786-92. doi: 10.1007/s00128-012-0779-4. Epub 2012 Aug 10.

Abstract

This is the first report on imposex occurrence in Pugilina morio. Imposex levels in P. morio from Ceará River Estuary were assessed by a non-lethal method. The obtained imposex parameters were: percentage = 37.1 %, female penis length index (FPLI) = 0.93 mm, relative penis length index (RPLI) = 6.5 %, and vas deferens sequence index (VDSI) = 1.0. Because imposex is induced by tributyltin, and P. morio is widely distributed on the East coast of South America, the species can be used as a tributyltin contamination sentinel in these estuaries. Additionally, a non-lethal method of evaluating imposex minimized the impact on the population of P. morio from sample collection, as all organisms were returned to the environment.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Disorders of Sex Development / chemically induced
  • Disorders of Sex Development / epidemiology
  • Disorders of Sex Development / veterinary*
  • Environmental Monitoring / methods*
  • Estuaries
  • Female
  • Gastropoda / physiology*
  • Male
  • Trialkyltin Compounds / analysis
  • Trialkyltin Compounds / toxicity
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical / toxicity

Substances

  • Trialkyltin Compounds
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • tributyltin