PARENT SESSION
PT2 - Endocrine Disruption
Tuesday, 19 November 2002
8:00 AM to 6:30 PM
Exhibit Hall

(P544) Effects of paper and pulpmill exposure on the reproductive physiology of bluegill sunfish in Elevenmile Creek, FLA.

Burse, Jeanine^*,1, ¹ Tulane University, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, New Orleans, LA, USA

ABSTRACT- A great number of the chemicals found in the aquatic environment have been shown to mimic or antagonize endogenous steroid hormones (Jobling et al 1998). These endocrine disruptors interfere with the normal functioning of the endocrine system (Arcand-Hoy and Benson 1998). This study focuses on the endocrine disrupting capabilities of paper and pulpmill effluents discharged into Elevenmile Creek, FLA; primarily its effects on levels of testosterone, 11-ketotestosterone, estradiol, and vitellogenin production in bluegill sunfish Lepomis macrochirus. Blugill were caught monthly for one year from Elevenmile Creek, and a reference site- Blackwater River. All hormones and vitellogenin were measured by ELISA. From previous studies conducted at Elevenmile Creek, the alternate hypothesis of this investigation was that female sunfish would exhibit a type of masculinization as seen in female mosquitofish captured from this site, indicating an androgenic effect of this type of contamination. Females would be expected to exhibit higher levels of androgens, and lower level of estradiol. The preliminary results show that fish from Elevenmile Creek exhibit higher levels of all steroid hormones in both sexes and higher levels of vitellogenin in females. The added nutrients and food supply may be a possible explanation for the increased levels of all hormones and vitellogenin in bluegill from Elevenmile Creek.

Key words: Lepomis macrochirus, papermill, hormones