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THE EFFECTS OF ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING COMPOUNDS ON GULF PIPEFISH
Impact/Purpose:
The main goals of this research are to: (1) determine the effect of endocrine disruptors on pipefish recruitment by testing how synthetic estrogen (EE2) exposure affects brood viability, juvenile sex determination and/or early development in gulf pipefish; and (2) understand the impacts EDCs have on natural populations of gulf pipefish in the Gulf of Mexico region using population genetics, gene expression biomarkers and evolutionary genomics.
Description:
Pipefish exposed to endocrine disruptors, such as EE2, are expected to have lower reproductive success, resulting in a decrease in recruitment in exposed populations. Egg viability also is expected to be lowest in the paired mating of an exposed male and female, compared to non-exposed individuals. Exposed juvenile pipefish are expected to show signs of feminization in male fish in addition to possible skewed sex ratios in exposed populations. Pipefish are expected to respond physiologically to endocrine disruptor contamination, resulting in changes in expression patterns across several genes. As a result of this study, several molecular markers will be developed as indicators of endocrine disruptor contamination. There also is the possibility of endocrine disruptor contamination causing changes in the genetic structure of exposed pipefish populations, as well as the pipefish’s genome, which will be detected using next-generation sequencing data.
Potential to Further Environmental/Human Health Protection
The proposed research represents a key step toward understanding the long-term effects of EDCs on the reproductive health of coastal fish populations in the Gulf of Mexico region. As a result of this study, molecular markers will be developed to assess impacts of pollutants and use population genomics to survey population structure over time to determine how long-term exposure to these contaminants affects natural populations. A better understanding of these impacts will provide the information necessary to achieve future goals, such as developing solutions to environmental contamination, and ultimately improve the water quality and well-being of the aquatic life within these ecosystems.