The Effect of Bisphenol-A (BPA) on the Feminization of Danio Rerio

In lakes and rivers all across the world, there has been an increase in the feminization of male fish due to the presence of endocrine disrupters (Rhee et al., 2010). It has been found that pollutants such as Bisphenol-A (BPA), farm runoff, and soil contaminants from municipal wastewater treatment plants can increase the amount of endocrine disrupters in water systems (Kidd et al., 2006). The project focused on BPA and its effect on adult and juvenile fish. Danio rerio were exposed to BPA concentrations of 0.0, 0.2 parts per billion (ppb), 2.0 ppb, and 20.0 ppb for one week. During this week, D. rerio spawned and the eggs were collected. The fish fry were exposed to the same concentrations as the parent generation until they reached adulthood. Through the use of statistical analysis it was found that there was a significant difference in the percent fertilized for 0.0 ppb vs 2.0 ppb (p=0.001) and 0.2ppb vs 20.0 ppb (p=0.003). There was no significant difference in percent survived or percent hatched for all concentrations (p\u3e0.05). The young were visually observed to have a largerr ratio of females to males in all concentrations. It is possible that these results are caused by something other than the BPA, such as stress, nutrients available, or randomness of fish health. More testing should be done to pinpoint the exact cause of difference in higher BPA concentrations. At this point, it seems that BPA does have a role in the ratio of females in D. rerio