Award of Imposex Analysis in Dogwhelks (MS-P-0416)

Description

The Scottish Government, through Marine Directorate is inviting a tender for analysis of imposex in dogwhelks.Marine Directorate (MD) require this analysis to determine the status of imposex in dogwhelks. Imposex is a condition where female marine snails develop male sexual characteristics, including formation of a vas deferens and growth of a penis. Imposex is caused by exposure to tributyltin (TBT). Monitoring for imposex is a very effective and sensitive way to evaluate levels of TBT. The imposex stage in females (Vas Deferens Sequence (VDS) stages) is determined following ICES TIMES series protocol no. 24 (Gibbs, 1999).