Acute toxicity of tributyltin to encapsulated embryos of a marine gastropod

ABSTRACT

The marine gastropod Buccinanops globulosus is known to have high imposex incidence in areas moderately polluted by tributyltin (TBT). Acute toxicity was previously studied in adults but no information is known about embryonic intracapsular development. To estimate the potential effects of organotin pollution on the progeny of B. globulosus, acute toxicity tests were conducted on encapsulated and excapsulated pre-hatching embryos. The lethal median concentration estimated for 96 h (LC₅₀ 96 h) in B. globulosus excapsulated embryos was 196.70 µg TBTCl L⁻¹, while in encapsulated embryos it was 2951.28 µg TBTCl L⁻¹. The LC₅₀ 96 h was 15-fold higher for encapsulated embryos compared to excapsulated embryos, denoting egg capsule protection against pollutants from the external environment. Our results show that TBT pollution can have significant effects in molluscs other than the chronic effect of imposex.

KEYWORDS:

• Buccinanops embryos
• egg capsules
• mortality
• Patagonia
• TBT pollution
• toxicity assays

Acknowledgements

Authors are members of CONICET. All research work including sampling and laboratory researches comply with current Argentine laws. This is publication #90 of the Laboratorio de Reproducción y Biología Integrativa de Invertebrados Marinos (LARBIM).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was partially supported by Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica, Argentina (FONCYT, PICT 1491, 1476 and 2709) and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET, PIP 067).