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NCER News Item
Wednesday
December 20, 2001
Beyond Estrogen: New Views of Endocrine Disruption in Wildlife
NCER Staff Writer
WASHINGTON
(NCER) - All animals are a product of both their genes and their environment.
On November 30, 2001, about 50 EPA employees from the Office of Research
and Development's National Centers and Offices; the Office of Environmental
Information; and Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances
heard Dr. Louis Guillette, Jr. from the University of Florida discuss
his work on endocrine disruption in alligators, fish, and other aquatic
wildlife. Dr. Guillette and his colleagues evaluated alligator populations,
in terms of their exposures to environmental pollutants, in several Florida
Lakes. They found that even very low concentrations (i.e., 100 ppt) of
certain chemicals, such as dicofol, produced a response in alligators.
Florida's Lake Okeechobee is particularly problematic since it is the
source of the Everglades restoration water and is contaminated by agricultural
chemicals, animal wastes, and other chemicals. Recent research by Dr.
Guillette's laboratory focuses on the possible effects of high nutrient
levels on hormonal responses in wildlife. Other work is investigating
the potential hormonal effects on wildlife from feedlot runoff from concentrated
animal feeding operations in Nebraska. This work by Dr. Guillette and
others may be helping to unravel difficult questions concerning sources
of exposures and mechanisms of hormone disruption and their effects on
wildlife.