Recovery from TBT pollution in English Channel environments: A problem solved?

Langston, WJ, Pope, ND, Davey, MS, Langston, KM, O'Hara, SCM, Gibbs, PE and Pascoe, PL 2015 Recovery from TBT pollution in English Channel environments: A problem solved? [in special issue: The English Channel and its Catchments: Status and Responses to Contaminants] Marine Pollution Bulletin, 95 (2). 551-564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.12.011

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Abstract/Summary

Following recognition of effects in the 1980s, tributyltin (TBT) has been monitored at sites in the English Channel to evaluate the prognosis for biota – spanning the introduction of restrictions on TBT use on small boats and the recent phase-out on the global fleet. We describe how persistence and impact of TBT in clams Scrobicularia plana has changed during this period in Southampton Water and Poole Harbour. TBT contamination (and loss) in water, sediment and clams reflects the abundance and type of vessel activity: half-times in sediment (up to 8y in Poole, 33y in Southampton) are longest near commercial shipping. Recovery of clam populations – slowest in TBT-contaminated deposits – provides a useful biological measure of legislative efficacy in estuaries. On rocky shores, recovery from imposex in Nucella lapillus is evident at many sites but, near ports, is prolonged by shipping impacts, including sediment legacy, for example, in the Fal.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Additional Keywords:	TBT; Recovery; Scrobicularia plana; Dogwhelks; English Channel
Divisions:	Marine Biological Association of the UK > Ocean Biology
Depositing User:	Dr Nick Pope
Date made live:	10 Sep 2015 09:33
Last Modified:	09 Feb 2024 16:43
URI:	https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/6535

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