Pugilina morio L., a New Imposex Exhibitor from South American Estuarine Environments: Approach for a Non-Lethal Method to Evaluate Imposex

Abstract

This is the first report on imposex occurrence in Pugilina morio. Imposex levels in P. morio from Ceara´ River Estuary were assessed by a non-lethal method. The obtained imposex parameters were: percentage = 37.1 %, female penis length index (FPLI) = 0.93 mm, relative penis length index (RPLI) = 6.5 %, and vas deferens sequence index (VDSI) = 1.0. Because imposex is induced by tributyltin, and P. morio is widely distributed on the East coast of South America, the species can be used as a tributyltin contamination sentinel in these estuaries. Additionally, a non-lethal method of evaluating imposex minimized the impact on the population of P. morio from sample collection, as all organisms were returned to the environment.