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Long-term 2007-2013 monitoring of reproductive disturbance in the dun sentinel Assiminea grayana with regard to polymeric materials pollution at the coast of Lower Saxony, North Sea, Germany.
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This long-term monitoring study of a small coastal snail in Germany found reproductive disorders across multiple years at sites near harbors and dockyards, with the disorders linked to leaching compounds from polymeric materials such as plastics and antifouling paints. The findings provide evidence that plastic-derived chemicals can act as endocrine disruptors in marine gastropods.
During biological effect monitoring studies of endocrine active compounds with the snail Assiminea grayana in 2007-2013, reproductive disorders including atresia, transformation of capsule/albumen glands into prostates in females and ovotestis, transformation of prostates to capsule/albumen glands, disruption of spermatogenesis, and calcification of tubules in males, were encountered in several years. The search of sources of endocrine active substances was first directed to antifouling biocides from paint particles and extended to leaching compounds from polymeric materials. In contrast to the reference sites, most of the observed disorders occurred at a station near harbors and dockyards polluted with residues from antifouling paints and polymeric materials. Beside of investigations about the potential ingestion of polymer particles by the snails, further investigations of compounds of polymeric materials with endocrine potential should follow.
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