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Imposex and butyltin burden in Bolinus brandaris (Mollusca, Gastropoda) and sediment from the Tunisian coast

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Abstract

The present study aimed at analyzing the imposex incidence and the presence of butyltins namely tributyltin (TBT) with its di- and mono-substituted metabolites in Bolinus brandaris whole tissues and in surface sediments at seven sites from the Tunisian coast during one campaign in May 2010. Butyltin levels were evaluated using isotope dilution GC–MS. Except the population collected from Zarat site, imposex was found in snails from the remained six sites with a maximal incidence and sterility (closure of the vaginal opening) registered in Carrier bay. Both imposex indices VDSI and RPLI showed a positive correlation with tissue concentrations of TBT. Total butyltin concentrations in sediments were higher in sites located in the vicinity of shipping areas with levels of TBT high enough to cause environmental concern if there is no legislative restriction and enforcement for the sale and use of these chemicals in Tunisia. These results further confirmed that B. brandaris is a good bioindicator of butyltin pollution in the studied areas. In addition, this study provided recent and new data on sediment butyltin concentrations that could serve for long-term monitoring of TBT pollution in Tunisia and the Mediterranean Sea.

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Acknowledgments

The present study was partially funded by a scholarship attributed to Sami Abidli by the Ministry of High Education and Scientific Research in Tunisia. This work is a result of collaboration between Faculty of sciences of Bizerta (Tunisia) and Faculty of Chemistry (Oviedo, Spain). Authors are grateful to the staff of the Department of Physical and Analytical Chemistry (Oviedo) for their help in butyltins analysis and to the staff of the laboratory of Molecular Genetic, Immunology and Biotechnology (Faculty of Sciences of Tunis) for the lyophilization of biological samples. Finally, we acknowledge the Editor and two anonymous referees for valuable comments and suggestions that greatly improved the manuscript.

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  1. Laboratory of Environment Biomonitoring, Faculty of Sciences of Bizerta (FSB), University of Carthage, 7021, Zarzouna, Bizerta, Tunisia

    Sami Abidli, Youssef Lahbib & Najoua Trigui El Menif

  2. Department of Physical and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Oviedo, Julían Clavería 8, 33006, Oviedo, Spain

    Pablo Rodríguez González & José Ignacio García Alonso

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  1. Sami Abidli
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  2. Youssef Lahbib
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  3. Pablo Rodríguez González
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  4. José Ignacio García Alonso
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  5. Najoua Trigui El Menif
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Correspondence to Sami Abidli.

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Abidli, S., Lahbib, Y., González, P.R. et al. Imposex and butyltin burden in Bolinus brandaris (Mollusca, Gastropoda) and sediment from the Tunisian coast. Hydrobiologia 714, 13–24 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-013-1505-x

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