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Further observations on a population of dog-whelks, Nucella lapillus (Gastropoda) recolonizing a site following amelioration of tributyltin (TBT) pollution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2003

J.H. Crothers
J.H. Crothers*
Affiliation:
Egypt Cottage, Fair Cross, Washford, Watchet, Somerset, TA23 0LY, UK, E-mail: Crothers@nettlecombe.demon.co.uk
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Abstract

Tributyltin (TBT) leaching from the antifouling paint on hulls of pleasure craft eliminated a population of dog-whelks Nucella lapillus from Watermouth Cove in the Bristol Channel but outside the Cove the number of snails was apparently unaffected. Following the ban on TBT in antifouling paints, the species has recovered most of its former range in the Cove. It is postulated that the recolonization was from a subtidal population of unusually large and elongated individuals. It was observed that it had taken some 13 years to recolonize a distance of 30 metres.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 83 , Issue 5 , October 2003 , pp. 1023 - 1027
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2003

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