Gender-bending fish

[Staff]

Gender-bending fish
Submitted by sgarcia on Wed, 2010-07-28 16:11.
July 29, 2010
Gender-bending fish on the rise in southern Alberta
U of C researchers say cocktail of chemicals skew sex ratios in river populations

Gender-bending fish | News & Events | University of Calgary
excerpt from above:

Chemicals present in two rivers in southern Alberta are likely the cause of the feminization of fish say researchers at the University of Calgary who have published results of their study in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

“What is unique about our study is the huge geographical area we covered. We found that chemicals – manmade and naturally occurring – that have the potential to harm fish were present along approximately 600 km of river,” says paper co-author Lee Jackson, executive director of Advancing Canadian Wastewater Assets, a research facility that develops and tests new approaches for treating wastewater which will be located at the City of Calgary’s new Pine Creek Wastewater Treatment Centre.

“The situation for native fish will likely get worse as the concentration of organic contaminants will become more concentrated as a response to climate change and the increase in human and animal populations,” adds Jackson...