Zoology Section, Postgraduate Course in Biological Sciences, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, Brazil.
Environ Toxicol Chem. 2012 Mar;31(3):632-8. doi: 10.1002/etc.1724. Epub 2012 Feb 6.
Tributyltin (TBT) contamination affects the reproductive system of many species of invertebrates worldwide. The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of exposure to TBT pollution on the reproduction of the hermit crab Clibanarius vittatus. An orthogonal experiment was designed with two treatments: contamination (with or without TBT in the food) and crab sex (males and females). The animals were reared in the laboratory for nine months, and macroscopic and histological analyses of reproductive organs were carried out after the end of the experiment. Tributyltin was recorded in exposed crabs, but no morphological alterations were detected in the gonads of males, regardless of whether they were exposed to TBT. In contrast, females exposed to TBT displayed disorganization and atrophy of their ovaries, thus directly affecting reproduction in this hermit crab species. This effect observed in female hermit crabs may harm populations located in harbor regions, where TBT concentration is high, even after the worldwide TBT ban.
三丁基锡（TBT）污染影响了全球许多无脊椎动物物种的生殖系统。本研究旨在评估暴露于 TBT 污染对寄居蟹 Clibanarius vittatus 繁殖的影响。设计了一个正交实验，有两个处理：污染（食物中是否含有 TBT）和蟹性别（雄性和雌性）。这些动物在实验室中饲养了九个月，实验结束后对生殖器官进行了宏观和组织学分析。在暴露的螃蟹中检测到了三丁基锡，但无论是否暴露于 TBT，雄性螃蟹的性腺都没有发现形态改变。相比之下，暴露于 TBT 的雌性螃蟹的卵巢出现了组织紊乱和萎缩，直接影响了这种寄居蟹物种的繁殖。即使在全球范围内禁止使用 TBT 之后，这种在雌性寄居蟹中观察到的影响仍可能对港口地区的种群造成危害，因为这些地区 TBT 的浓度很高。
