Toxico-kinetic and -dynamic aspects of TBT-induced imposex in Hydrobia ulvae compared with intersex in Littorina littorea (Gastropoda, Prosobranchia)

Abstract

A short description of the imposex condition in Hydrobia ulvae is presented. In this species four different imposex stages with two types of development were identified. In laboratory experiments the mud snail accumulates TBT in a time and concentration-dependent manner. Increasing biological indices e.g. VDSI (vas deferens sequence index), female penis length (FPL) and the imposex incidence are significantly correlated with increasing TBT body burden. The percentage of sterile females depends on the TBT contamination of sediments. An interspecific comparison of the mud snail H. ulvae and the periwinkle Littorina littorea elucidates that the mud snail is the more sensitive species at lower environmental TBT concentrations. © 1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers.