Journal article
Sex in troubled waters: Widespread agricultural contaminant disrupts reproductive behaviour in fish
MG Bertram, M Saaristo, JB Baumgartner, CP Johnstone, M Allinson, G Allinson, BBM Wong
Hormones and Behavior | Published : 2015
Abstract
Chemical pollution is a pervasive and insidious agent of environmental change. One class of chemical pollutant threatening ecosystems globally is the endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). The capacity of EDCs to disrupt development and reproduction is well established, but their effects on behaviour have received far less attention. Here, we investigate the impact of a widespread androgenic EDC on reproductive behaviour in the guppy, Poecilia reticulata. We found that short-term exposure of male guppies to an environmentally relevant concentration of 17β-trenbolone-a common environmental pollutant associated with livestock production-influenced the amount of male courtship and forced copula..
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Awarded by Department of Environment and Primary Industries
Funding Acknowledgements
This study was supported by a Discovery Grant from the Australian Research Council (DP130100385) (awarded to BBMW) and an Academy of Finland Postdoctoral Researcher Fellowship (265629) (to MS). At the initiation of this study, the Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and Management (CAPIM) received foundation funding from the Victorian Science Agenda Investment Fund managed by the Department of Business and Innovation (DBI) (http://dsdbi.vic.gov.au/), with additional funding from the Melbourne Water and the Department of Environment and Primary Industries (Victoria).