Embryo abnormalities in the periwinkle,Littorina ‘saxatilis’, as indicators of stress in polluted marine environments |
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| Authors: | DR Dixon D Pollard |
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| Institution: | 1. N.E.R.C. Institute for Marine Environmental Research, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 3DH, UK;2. Department of Genetics, University College of Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea, West Glamorgan, SA2 8PP, UK |
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| Abstract: | Brood pouches of periwinkles belonging to the Littorina ‘saxatilis’ species complex usually contain, in addition to the five normal stages in development, a proportion of embryos that are morphologically abnormal. The frequency of adults with a high percentage of abnormals in their brood pouches reflects to a great extent the degree of environmental stress, natural and anthropogenic, to which the adult population has been exposed.Collections of this gastropod from coastal populations along the Gower coast, in South Wales, disclosed higher frequencies of abnormal embryos from sites exposed to pollutant-laden, residual water currents in Swansea Bay, than was recorded from a clean, coastal population at Rhossili, 26 km west of Swansea, where frequencies were similar to those recorded from other unpolluted, coastal populations elsewhere in the British Isles.While environmental water quality is probably a dominating factor in determining this effect, the presence of a low frequency of high scoring individuals in clean environments points to this phenomenon having a complex aetiology. It is suggested that the underlying causal factor may be one of disease, which is present in all L. ‘saxatilis’ populations, and which is triggered by factors related to reduced environmental water quality. |
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