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Document Title:
Intersex Fish : Endocrine disruption in smallmouth bass
AUTHOR(S):
PAGES:
1 - 2
PUBLICATION DATE:
April 2009
ABSTRACT:
Since 2003, scientists at the U.S.
Geological Survey’s National Fish
Health Research Laboratory
(NFHRL) in Kearneysville, WV have
been evaluating the reproductive
health of smallmouth bass in the upper
Potomac River and its tributaries,
including the Shenandoah River. They
noted the presence of immature female
germ cells (oocytes) in the testes of
some of the male fish. This condition,
a type of intersex, is evidence of a
disturbance in the hormonal system
of the fish (i.e., endocrine disruption).
Further evidence of endocrine
disruption occurs when we detect the
presence of vitellogenin in the blood
of male fish. Vitellogenin is a protein
produced by female fish to form egg
yolk and is normally absent in males.
In addition to the effects on male fish,
a substantial decrease of vitellogenin
in females also suggests endocrine
disruption.
PUBLISHED BY:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
DOCUMENT LINK:
http://www.fws.gov/chesapeakebay/pdf/endocrine.pdf, 1 MB
ADDITIONAL LINKS:
Chesapeake Bay Field Office Contaminants Program
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