Effects of exposure to municipal wastewater in situ on the reproductive physiology of the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas)
- 1 September 1999
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
- Vol. 18 (9) , 2001-2012
- https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.5620180919
Abstract
Effects of representative central Michigan wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents on the reproductive physiology of fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) were assessed in situ by measuring plasma concentrations of vitellogenin (VTG), 17β‐estradiol (E2), and testosterone (T), and evaluating gonad histology and male secondary sex characteristics. Caged adult male and female fathead minnows were exposed for 3 weeks to WWTP effluent. One riverine site and one lacustrine site were included as references for comparison to WWTP sites. Plasma concentrations of VTG, E2, and T in female fish, quantified by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), were greater at the lacustrine site than the riverine site or WWTP sites. None of the male fish had mean plasma VTG concentrations similar to that observed in females. Most VTG concentrations in male fish were less than the VTG ELISA detection limit. Female plasma concentrations of E2 were similar among riverine and WWTP sites. Plasma concentrations of E2 in male fish were greater than the riverine site at all WWTP sites except the Williamston site, but were not significantly different from the lacustrine site. Concentrations of T in female and male fish were similar among riverine and exposure sites. No trends in hormone concentrations, male secondary sex characteristics, or gonad histology could be attributed to putative endocrine disrupter exposure in WWTP effluent. The results indicate that the risk for estrogen agonist exposure below these central Michigan WWTPs is small.Keywords
This publication has 30 references indexed in Scilit:
- Detergent components in sewage effluent are weakly oestrogenic to fish: An in vitro study using rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) hepatocytesPublished by Elsevier ,2002
- The response to capture and confinement stress of plasma cortisol, plasma sex steroids and vitellogenic oocytes in the marine teleost, red gurnardJournal of Fish Biology, 1997
- Comparative study of reproductive biology in single and multiple-spawner cyprinid fish. II. Sex steroid and plasma protein phosphorus concentrationsJournal of Fish Biology, 1997
- Universal assay of vitellogenin as a biomarker for environmental estrogens.Environmental Health Perspectives, 1995
- Vitellogenesis as a biomarker for estrogenic contamination of the aquatic environment.Environmental Health Perspectives, 1995
- Universal Assay of Vitellogenin as a Biomarker for Environmental EstrogensEnvironmental Health Perspectives, 1995
- The effects of pollution on reproduction in fishReviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 1995
- Estrogenic Effects of Effluents from Sewage Treatment WorksChemistry and Ecology, 1994
- Sexual maturity in sea trout, Salmo trutta L., running up the River Calonne (Normandy, France) at the ‘finnock’ stageJournal of Fish Biology, 1991
- Identification and characterization of estrogen-responsive gene products in the liver of rainbow troutCanadian Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, 1983