Intersex in Roe's abalone (Haliotis roei) in Western Australia

摘要

Since the 1970s, tributyltin (TBT) has been used as the active ingredient in antifouling paints applied to the hulls of vessels to prevent the attachment and growth of fouling organisms. The leaching of TBT in marine waters has been associated with the induction of imposex, the imposition of male characters onto a female organism. To date, imposex has been reported in 63 genera and 140 species worldwide (Terlizzi et al., 2004; Reitsema et al., 2002), Even at extremely low concentrations such as 0.5 ng L~(-1) imposex has been ob- served in Nucella lapillus, a marine snail (Bryan et al., 1987). The deleterious effects observed globally triggered the adoption of legislative restrictions regarding the application of TBT in many countries. In 1991, the Western Australian government implemented legislation restricting the use of TBT to vessels greater than 25 m in length.