Effects of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals on
Within a few years of their widespread introduction into the environment, there were major concerns about the effects of man-made chemicals on wildlife in Canada. Biologists have found evidence of endocrine disruption in at least 16 species of birds (particularly fish-eating and predatory species),...
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| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.581.8423 http://www.cawq.ca/journal/temp/article/211.pdf |
| Summary: | Within a few years of their widespread introduction into the environment, there were major concerns about the effects of man-made chemicals on wildlife in Canada. Biologists have found evidence of endocrine disruption in at least 16 species of birds (particularly fish-eating and predatory species), 3 species of ter-restrial mammals and 1 whale, 1 reptile and several amphibians. These effects were seen in the Great Lakes, areas polluted with pulp and paper effluents, the forests of New Brunswick, a variety of agricultural habitats, acidified lakes in Nova Scotia, major rivers and inshore coastal waters, and the Arctic. They include decreased reproductive success, gross congenital abnormalities and interference with developmental/regenerational processes; thyroid dysfunction; metabolic abnormalities; feminization/demasculinization; alterations in sex ratios; altered brain development and behaviour; and altered immune function. These sub-lethal effects have the potential to alter an individual’s quality of life, its survival, or reproductive fitness. Morbidity and mortality are rarely detected and grossly underestimated in wildlife populations and we are likely to have underestimat- |
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