Posted: 11 Sep 2015 09:00 PM PDT
What is causing such an unnatural occurrence? Powerful endocrine
disrupters known as xenoestrogens are the culprit, according to the
study authors. These are estrogens similar in structure to the estrogens
made in the body of the female of the species, but in males as well as
females, they function as hormone disruptors. Xenoestrogens have become
ubiquitous in the environment. They come from things man-made, including
pollution, pesticides, and plastics. Black bass and sunfish, commonly
found in the fresh waters of North Carolina, were studied by the
researchers, who had tested 20 streams and rivers containing
xenoestrogens during the 2012 spawning season and detected 135 types of
them. They found that 60% of the black bass tested had eggs in their
testes, as did 10% of the sunfish they evaluated. Forty-three of the
xenoestrogen types the team documented in 2012 were found in these fish.
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