PARENT SESSION
MA3 - Endocrine Disruption
Chair: Guiney, Patrick¹, ¹ S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., Racine, WI
Co-chair: Henry, Tala², ² U.S. EPA, NHEERL, Duluth, MN
8:00 AM to 12:00 PM - Monday, 18 November 2002
Room Ballroom H

(184) Evaluating Effects across Biological Levels of Organization: EDCs in Fish.

Ankley, Gerald^*,1, ¹ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Duluth, MN, USA

ABSTRACT- A challenge in ecological risk assessments is to obtain, in a resource-effective manner, information that provides insight both into chemical mode/mechanism of action (MOA) and adverse effects in individual animals, which are indicative of potential population-level responses. This requires test systems that enable the effective characterization of toxicological responses across biological levels of organization. To support implementation of a screening and testing program for endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), a short-term fathead minnow reproduction assay was developed (Ankley et al. 2001; Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 20:1276), which features an integrated assessment of biological endpoints relevant to recruitment (e.g., fecundity, fertility, development), linked to a suite of endpoints reflective of toxic (endocrine-related) mechanisms of concern. In this talk, I will present data sets from the fathead minnow assay generated for three EDCs with differing MOA (methoxychlor, trenbolone, fadrozole) to demonstrate documentation of effects across levels of organization, and illustrate how this information is of utility to both screening-level and higher-tier risk assessments. This abstract does not reflect EPA policy.

Key words: endocrine-disrupting chemicals, fish, mode of action, populations