Survey of estrogenic activity in United Kingdom estuarine and coastal waters and its effects on gonadal development of the flounderPlatichthys flesus

1999 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 1791-1800 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Allen ◽  
Alexander P. Scott ◽  
Peter Matthiessen ◽  
Sarah Haworth ◽  
John E. Thain ◽  
...  
1985 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-80
Author(s):  
A. N. Cockcroft

Traffic separation schemes and other routing measures have now been established in the coastal waters of many countries and new schemes are being introduced each year. Traffic separation was originally intended to reduce the risk of collision between ships proceeding in opposite directions but this paper explains how routing measures are now being used mainly for coastal protection. Improvements in navigational aids may lead to more extensive routing schemes in the future with increasing restriction on the movement of shipping.The first traffic separation schemes adopted by IMCO (now IMO) in 1965 and 1968 were based on proposals made by the Institutes of Navigation of France, the Federal German Republic and the United Kingdom. In the report submitted to the Organisation by the Institutes in 1964 it was stated that ‘the object of any form of routing is to ease the congestion and lessen the likelihood of end-on encounters by separating opposing streams of traffic …’.


2015 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 198-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
MR. Oliveira ◽  
MM. Carvalho ◽  
NB. Silva ◽  
ME. Yamamoto ◽  
S. Chellappa

The epipelagic flyingfish, Hirundichthys affinis is a major artisanal fishery resource from the Northeastern coastal waters of Brazil. However, biological information about this species has been poorly documented. This paper presents data on the length-weight relationship, sex ratio, length at first sexual maturity, gonadal development and fecundity of H. affinis sampled from the coastal waters of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The total body length and weight for both sexes ranged from 23.4 to 29.4 cm and from 89 to 188g, respectively. The allometric coefficient of males was 2.208 and that of females was 2.985, indicating negatively allometric growth. The sex ratio was 1M:1.6F thus differing from the expected ratio of 1:1 (χ2 = 18.63). The total length at first sexual maturity was estimated at 27.3 cm for males and 27.1 cm for females. The macroscopic characteristics of the gonads indicated four maturation stages. Histological studies of gonads of H. affinis showed seven phases of oocyte development and four phases of spermatocyte development. The mean absolute fecundity was 9092 vitelogenic oocytes. Spawning occurred during the months of March to July. The microscopic descriptions of the stages of gonad maturation indicate that the study area is an important spawning ground of H. affinis.


1983 ◽  
Vol 40 (S2) ◽  
pp. s143-s150 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. J. Langston

High As concentrations occur in certain United Kingdom estuaries as a result of mineralization and associated processes including mining and metal refining. Analyses of dissolved and particulate As, carried out in estuaries of differing contamination, indicate that As is readily precipitated with Fe during mixing at the freshwater–seawater interface. This gives rise to significant correlations between the two elements in suspended and bottom sediments. More than 80% of the As entering Restronguet Creek, the most contaminated of the estuaries studied, is retained by estuarine sediments, which consequently act as sinks for riverine inputs and limit transport of dissolved species to coastal waters. However, the behavior of As in different estuaries varies with the physicochemical conditions present and the nature of the source. Most significantly, remobilization of sediments is recognized as a feature affecting the cycling of As in the Tamar Estuary.


The annual input of petroleum hydrocarbons to the North Sea has recently been estimated to be between 100 and 170 kt and is derived from a variety of sources. Although there is uncertainty about the size of inputs from some sources, there is general agreement that the atmosphere, rivers and land run-off (including coastal sewage), and coastal oil industry activities combined with shipping, remain sources of major inputs. However, the size of annual inputs from the offshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation activities has recently increased to about 20 kt and these activities now form one of the major sources of petroleum hydrocarbons to the North Sea. This increase is almost entirely due to the use of oil-based drill-muds and the consequent discharge of drill cuttings contaminated with residual mud. At present, experience in the United Kingdom has shown that this input of fresh, unweathered oil rapidly enters otherwise uncontaminated offshore sediments, producing strictly local effects around the point-source discharges. The nature and composition of this input differs from the majority of the inputs to coastal waters and sediments, and from the diffuse atmospheric input to offshore waters. Of the 140 kt of materials other than oil discharged annually to the North Sea from oil and gas developments in the United Kingdom, 98-99% arise from drilling operations, but the vast majority of inputs from this source are biologically inert or derivatives of natural products. Surveys indicate that, of the remaining materials, less than 50 t of the more toxic products (i.e. those with a 96 h LC 50 to Crangon crangon of less than 1 part/10 6 ) are discharged into United Kingdom waters annually. The largely uncontaminated offshore North Sea waters and sediments remain little affected by offshore oil and gas developments, but if these activities enter already contaminated estuarine and coastal waters, the contamination and effects from this source will be harder to distinguish.


1997 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 534-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jule E. Harries ◽  
David A. Sheahan ◽  
Susan Jobling ◽  
Peter Matthiessen ◽  
Paula Neall ◽  
...  

Estuaries ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Shaw ◽  
Duncan A. Purdie ◽  
Pedro S. de Frietas ◽  
Andrew P. Rees ◽  
Ian Joint

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document