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Imposex in Hexaplex trunculus at some sites on the north Mediterranean coast as a base-line for future evaluation of the effectiveness of the total ban on organotin based antifouling paints
Garaventa, F.; Pellizzato, F.; Faimali, M.; Terlizzi, A.; Medakovic, D.; Geraci, S.; Pavoni, B. (2006). Imposex in Hexaplex trunculus at some sites on the north Mediterranean coast as a base-line for future evaluation of the effectiveness of the total ban on organotin based antifouling paints, in: Queiroga, H. et al. (Ed.) Marine biodiversity: patterns and processes, assessment, threats, management and conservation: Proceedings of the 38th European Marine Biology Symposium, held in Aveiro, Portugal, 8-12 September 2003. Developments in Hydrobiology, 183: pp. 281-287. dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10750-005-1124-2
In: Queiroga, H. et al. (2006). Marine biodiversity - Patterns and processes, assessment, threats, management and conservation: Proceedings of the 38th European Marine Biology Symposium, held in Aveiro, Portugal, 8-12 September 2003. European Marine Biology Symposia, 38. Developments in Hydrobiology, 183. ISBN 1-4020-4321-X. XV, 353 pp. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4697-9, more
In: European Marine Biology Symposia., more

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Document type: Conference paper

Keywords
    Imposex
    Tributyltin
    Hexaplex trunculus (Linnaeus, 1758) [WoRMS]
    MED, Mediterranean [Marine Regions]
    Marine/Coastal
Author keywords
    imposex; Hexaplex trunculus; Mediterranean Sea; tributyltin; triphenyltin

Authors  Top 
  • Garaventa, F.
  • Pellizzato, F.
  • Faimali, M.
  • Terlizzi, A., more
  • Medakovic, D.
  • Geraci, S.
  • Pavoni, B.

Abstract
    Imposex – the superimposition of male sexual organs (penis and vas deferens) onto female Neogastropods such as Hexaplex trunculus (Linné, 1758) – is used world-wide as a biomarker of ecological impact of organotin based antifouling biocides (TBT and TPhT). To limit the impact of organotin pollution, since January 1, 2003, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has enacted a global ban on the use of organotin compounds in antifouling systems. It is important to record imposex levels and organotin contamination before the implementation of the ban, in order to assess the current situation and be able, in the future, to verify the effects of the International Protocol. In this paper, recent imposex data measured in populations of Hexaplex trunculus from three different Mediterranean regions are compared: the Ligurian Sea (Italy), the Lagoon of Venice (Italy) and the western coast of Istria (Croatia). In the two former locations, a partial ban on TBT has been in force for vessels less than 25 m since 1982, while in the latter region no restrictions on organotin antifouling paints have been applied yet. Gastropod samples collected from the Venice lagoon were analysed with an acid extraction followed by Grignard derivatisation, clean up and GC-MS determination, in order to relate the levels of TBT, TPhT and their metabolites with the imposex degree detected. Biological data show that the levels of imposex were very high (VDS from 4.3 to 5) in all the sampling sites considered, particularly in the Croatian coast stations. The concentrations of organotin compounds – butyltins and phenyltins – measured in the samples from the lagoon of Venice were found to partition differently in the visceral coil and in the rest of the soft body of the analysed organisms.

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