EFFECTS OF ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING COMPOUNDS ON WALLEYE, STIZOSTEDION VITREUM, NEAR THE METRO SEWAGE

Recent studies in the United Kingdom and the United States have reported the presence of estrogenic compounds, natural and synthetic, in treated domestic and industrial sewage effluent released from sewage treatment plants (STPs) (Desbrow et al., 1998, Ternes et al., 1999). These compounds may reduce the reproductive potential of exposed fish. Evidence of exposure to estrogenic compounds has been verified by the presence of elevated levels of vitellogenin (VTG), a female egg yolk protein precursor, in male fish. Male fish, although capable of synthesizing VTG, typically only do so when exposed to chemicals with estrogenic properties. VTG induction in male fish has been linked to the 50 presence of estrogenic chemicals in sewage effluent in the United Kingdom (Desbrow et al., 1998) and is a bio-indicator of the presence of estrogenic chemicals in the aquatic environment (Sumpter and Jobling, 1995). This research is attempting to determine if estrogenic compounds in the Minneapolis and St. Paul Metropolitan STP effluent are having a significan