Bioaccumulation of the pharmaceutical 17alpha-ethinylestradiol in shorthead redhorse suckers (Moxostoma macrolepidotum) from the St. Clair River, Canada.
17alpha-ethynylestradiol (EE2), a synthetic estrogen prescribed as a contraceptive, was measured in Shorthead Redhorse Suckers (ShRHSs) (Moxostoma macrolepidotum) collected near a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in the St. Clair River (Ontario, Canada). We detected EE2 in 50% of the fish samples caught near the WWTP (Stag Island), which averaged 1.6+/-0.6ng/g (wet weight) in males and 1.43+/-0.96ng/g in females. No EE2 was detected in the samples from the reference site (Port Lambton) which was 26km further downstream of the Stag Island site. Only males from Stag Island had VTG induction, suggesting the Corunna WWTP effluent as a likely source of environmental estrogen. EE2 concentrations were correlated with total body lipid content (R(2)=0.512, p<0.01, n=10). Lipid normalized EE2 concentrations were correlated with delta(15)N (R(2)=0.436, p<0.05, n=10), suggesting higher EE2 exposures in carnivores. Our data support the hypothesis of EE2 bioaccumulation in wild fish.
Al-Ansari
Ahmed M
AM
University of Ottawa, Department of Biology, Chemical and Environmental Toxicology, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada.
Saleem
Ammar
A
Kimpe
Linda E
LE
Sherry
Jim P
JP
McMaster
Mark E
ME
Trudeau
Vance L
VL
Blais
Jules M
JM
D000818:Animals; D003276:Contraceptives, Oral / Q000378:metabolism*; D003531:Cypriniformes / Q000378:metabolism*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008297:Male; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes / Q000378:metabolism; D009864:Ontario; D014819:Vitellogenins / Q000378:metabolism; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism*
D003276:Contraceptives, Oral; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes; D014819:Vitellogenins; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol