Project Summary (2000-2006)

Exposure of wildlife and humans to environmental contaminants that behave as hormones (endocrine disruptors) has caused widespread concern. Reproductive damages reported to date include reduced fertility, reduced hatchability, reduced viability of offspring, impaired hormone activity and altered sexual behavior. Project investigators are centering their studies on understanding the involvement of nonylphenol (NP), 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chloro-phenyl)ethylene (DDE), benzo[a]pyrene, and methoxychlor on endocrine disruption in largemouth bass found in the highly polluted Superfund site at Lake Apopka, and in the muck farms of central Florida. Laboratory in vivo and in vitro experiments are being conducted to help develop an endocrine toxicology based gene expression array (DNA chip) specific for fish that can be used to detect exposure to these endocrine disrupting compounds in the environment.