Research Product

Endocrine disrupting chemicals can potentially alter the reproductive physiology of fishes. To test this hypothesis, serum was collected from common carp (Cyprinus carpio) at five riverine locations in Minnesota. Male fish collected from an effluent channel below the St. Paul Metropolitan Sewage treatment plant had significantly elevated serum egg protein (vitellogenin) concentrations compared to male carp collected from the St. Croix River, a National Wild and Scenic River. Carp collected from the Minnesota River, which receives significant agricultural runoff, also exhibited depressed serum testosterone concentrations, but no serum vitellogenin was apparent. These data suggest that North American rivers are receiving estrogenic chemicals which are biologically active as has been reported in Great Britain.