Tributyltin in Sydney Harbour and Georges River Waters

Batley, G.E.; Mann, KJ; Brockbank, CI; Maltz, A

doi:10.1071/mf9890039

Cited by 16 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…This means that other factors or processes that could not be controlled and which correlate with position might have contributed to the observed patterns (e.g. contamination, Batley et al . 1989).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposure of seawalls to waves within an urban estuary: effects on intertidal assemblages

Blockley

Chapman

2008

Austral Ecology

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Despite being largely protected from sea swell by headlands, shores within Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia are subjected to considerable wave action from wind waves and the numerous recreational and commercial boats and ships using the waterways.The aim of this study was to test whether assemblages on artificial shores, that is, seawalls, either exposed to or sheltered from waves would show similar patterns to those published for natural shores exposed to or sheltered from sea swell. Specifically, the hypotheses were tested that sheltered seawalls would have greater cover of algae, whereas exposed seawalls would have greater cover of sessile invertebrates and greater abundance of mobile invertebrates. It was found that encrusting algae had greater cover on sheltered seawalls, whereas cover of turfing algae was greater on exposed walls. Sessile filter-feeders generally had greater cover on exposed seawalls, although a dominant space occupier, the oyster Saccostrea glomerata, showed either no difference, or greater cover on sheltered seawalls among different locations. The pattern for the dominant grazer on seawalls, the pulmonate limpet Siphonaria denticulata showed the predicted pattern low on the shore, but the opposite pattern at mid-tidal levels. Despite some inconsistencies the results were similar to those predicted from studies on natural shores, showing that assemblages on urban structures respond to wave action in a way that is predictable from studies on natural shores. Experiments were carried out where assemblages were transplanted to sites with differing exposure to waves to determine whether differences in recruitment or post-recruitment mortality were responsible for patterns of difference.We found that some sessile invertebrates did not survive when transplanted to sheltered seawalls, suggesting that difference in survival of organisms was responsible for observed patterns. This was not, however, found when the experiment was repeated at other locations. It is likely that processes affecting the assemblages are temporally and spatially very variable, or that more than one process interacts to cause observed patterns. Identifying such complexity requires rigorously structured sampling designs and appropriate manipulative experiments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposure of seawalls to waves within an urban estuary: effects on intertidal assemblages

Blockley

Chapman

2008

Austral Ecology

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“…1994). To establish the link between TBT concentrations found in areas of high boating activity (Batley et al 1989) and imposex, T. orbita was exposed to three concentrations of TBT between 10 and 240 ng/L for 6 months . These concentrations caused a progressive induction of imposex, up to 62%.…”

Section: Validating Field Bioindicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of ecotoxicity testing in assessing water quality

Chapman¹

1995

Australian Journal of Ecology

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Ecotoxicology provides a basis for making decisions on the likely impact of a chemical or effluent on the aquatic environment. It encompasses laboratory ecotoxicity tests of various types to explore relationships between exposure and effect under controlled laboratory conditions, through to studies of the effects of chemicals or effluents under a variety of ecological conditions in complex field ecosystems. This paper will focus on the value of laboratory ecotoxicity tests as a tool in assessing water quality. Laboratory tests are valuable (i) in deriving and assessing water quality criteria, (ii) for screening and ranking chemicals and predicting their hazard and risk, (iii) for establishing dilution levels of chemicals or effluents prior to discharge into water bodies, (iv) in determining cause-effect relationships in postimpact studies, and (v) for establishing and validating field bioindicators. Both the advantages and deficiencies of using ecotoxicological testing for these purposes are illustrated from research with pesticides, metals and sediments. Use of a combination of both laboratory-and field-based ecotoxicology studies is important to gain a full understanding of the effects of chemicals at the ecosystem level.

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“…A study of TBT contamination along the Western Australia coast reported high levels of TBT in marine sediment (0.001-1.35 g/g TBT) and mussel (Mytilus edulis) tissue (0.003-0.32 g/g TBT), which correlated with areas of high boating activity [20]. In New South Wales, Sydney Harbour had levels of 0.220 g/L TBT and 0.051 g/L DBT, and Georges River had lower levels of 0.1 g/L TBT and 0.04 g/L DBT [16], while oysters in the Georges River had bioaccumulated levels of 0.019 mg/kg DBT and 0.234 mg/ kg TBT [21]. No studies have been reported in the literature concerning organotin contamination of the Murray-Darling basin despite the expectation of some contamination in this freshwater environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, international studies have shown that TBT and DBT contamination of freshwater ecosystems is significant. Residues of the organotins have been reported up to 54 and 220 ng/L in water columns [16], 143 and 520 ng/g in sediments [17,18], and 0.7 and 2.5 mg/kg in fish tissues [17,19] for DBT and TBT, respectively. Very few studies have investigated the contamination of TBT and DBT in Australian waters, especially in recent years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of in vitro and in vivo organotin exposures on the immune functions of murray cod (Maccullochella peelii peelii)

Harford

O’Halloran

Wright

2007

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

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Abstract-Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii peelii) is an iconic native Australian freshwater fish and an ideal species for ecotoxicological testing of environmental pollutants. The species is indigenous to the Murray-Darling basin, which is the largest river system in Australia but also the ultimate sink for many environmental pollutants. The organotins tributyltin (TBT) and dibutyltin (DBT) are common pollutants of both freshwater and marine environments and are also known for their immunotoxicity in both mammals and aquatic organisms. In this study, TBT and DBT were used as exemplar immunotoxins to assess the efficiency of immune function assays (i.e., mitogen-stimulated lymphoproliferation, phagocytosis in head kidney tissue, and serum lysozyme activity) and to compare the sensitivity of Murray cod to other fish species. The organotins were lethal to Murray cod at concentrations previously reported as sublethal in rainbow trout (i.e., intraperitoneal [i.p.] lethal dose to 75% of the Murray cod [LD75] ϭ 2.5 mg/kg DBT and i.p. lethal dose to 100% of the Murray cod [LD100] ϭ 12.5 mg/kg TBT and DBT). In vivo TBT exposure at 0.1 and 0.5 mg/kg stimulated the phagocytic function of Murray cod (F ϭ 6.89, df ϭ 18, p ϭ 0.004), while the highest concentration of 2.5 mg/kg TBT decreased lymphocyte numbers (F ϭ 7.92, df ϭ 18, p ϭ 0.02) and mitogenesis (F ϭ 3.66, df ϭ 18, p ϭ 0.035). Dibutyltin was the more potent immunosuppressant in Murray cod, causing significant reductions in phagocytic activity (F ϭ 5.34, df ϭ 16, p ϭ 0.013) and lymphocyte numbers (F ϭ 10.63, df ϭ 16, p ϭ 0.001).

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Tributyltin in Sydney Harbour and Georges River Waters

Cited by 16 publications

References 0 publications

Exposure of seawalls to waves within an urban estuary: effects on intertidal assemblages

Exposure of seawalls to waves within an urban estuary: effects on intertidal assemblages

The role of ecotoxicity testing in assessing water quality

Effect of in vitro and in vivo organotin exposures on the immune functions of murray cod (Maccullochella peelii peelii)

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