Feminized Male Bass! What the . . .
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The topic of feminized male fish is catching the attention of fish biologists. I have been following this topic for a brief period and don’t know what to make of it yet. It is probably just a natural event that has gone unnoticed/studied. However, the topic of feminized male bass has to be one of the “weirdest” fish science stories in a long time.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090914/ap_on_sc/us_sci_intersex_fish
Mark, as a former environmental scientist I can clarify that the PBS series, while intriguing, is more of a general water pollution piece.
I am an EH specialist and think most people would be shocked at what is actually in the water they drink.
I’ve heard it said that it’s easier to test for caffeine than E. coli as evidence of a sewage leak, since you never find one without the other in a sewer system. The same would probably go for Prozac, birth-control hormones, and acetaminophen, to name a few.
Here’s a nice little summary from the USGS, detailing some of their findings on intersex bass from all over the country. (Hat tip to one of the profs at Warnell for bringing it to my attention.)
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2305">
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2305We are starting to see more and more feminized male bass here in PA in the Susquehanna River. Pharmaceutical companies upstream are thought to be the blame, discharging birth-control related products into the river.
The Susq used to be the best smallmouth fishery in the northeast but has really taken a beating over the past 5 years or so.… It is probably just a natural event that has gone unnoticed/studied…. However, the topic of feminized male bass has to be one of the “weirdest” fish science stories in a long time
I tried to do some background research on the stories, but they all seem to refer back to a single study by the USGS.
I tried to do some background research on the stories, but they all seem to refer back to a single study by the USGS. Even this study seems to have some odd anomolies in it. I know of some saltwater species that change sex during their lifetime as a natural occurance, so I was wondering if this may be the case.
The jury is definitely still out.
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