MEPS 307:307-310 (2006)  -  doi:10.3354/meps307307

ABSTRACT: In order to examine the transfer of tributyltin (TBT) from parental females to offspring, TBT concentrations were determined in both parental females and offspring of the viviparous surfperch Ditrema temmincki Bleeker. The TBT concentration in the parental females was 2.8 ± 1.0 ng g^–1 wet wt (mean ± SD), and ranged from 2.0 to 4.2 ng g^–1 wet wt. In contrast, the TBT concentration in the offspring was 33.7 ± 5.7 ng g^–1 wet wt and ranged from 24.2 to 42.4 ng g^–1 wet wt. The offspring had 10 to 16 times higher concentrations of TBT than the parental females. In the parental females, the proportion of TBT was 51.4 ± 9.3% of the total butyltin (ΣBTs = TBT + DBT + MBT). The proportion of TBT in the offspring was 81.6 ± 1.6%, and this value was higher than that of the parental females. These results suggest that TBT is transferred from parental females to the young, and that offspring have a lower metabolic capacity to degrade TBT than their parental females, leading to a high accumulation of TBT. Offspring, therefore, have a higher risk of TBT exposure than the parental females when they are in the ovary.

KEY WORDS: Tributyltin · Viviparous fish · Transfer · Parental female · Offspring