Development and Application of Biomarkers to Evaluate Endocrine Disruption in Fish as a Result of Poultry Litter Application on the Delmarva PeninsulaThe Delmarva peninsula is one of the most densely concentrated poultry producing areas in the U.S., producing 600 million birds and 1.6 billion lbs. of litter annually. In addition to nutrients, poultry litter contains feed additives such as trace metals and antibiotics, as well as naturally produced hormones. This project was initiated to assess whether endocrine disruption could occur in fish populations on the Delmarva peninsula as a result of poultry litter application to fields. Because 17 B-estradiol (E2) can persist at high concentrations in poultry litter, we hypothesized that runoff from fields treated with litter would exert a direct estrogenic effect on freshwater and estuarine fish. Specific questions to be answered were: (1) Does E2 reach streams and estuaries through surface water runoff following "standard" application of poultry litter to fields and, if so, at what concentration? (2) Are resulting E2 levels sufficient to induce endocrine disrupting effects on resident fish species? (3) Are such effects evident in resident fish populations from impacted areas on the Delmarva peninsula? |
||
|
Daniel J. Fisher and Lance T. Yonkos
Wye Research and Education Center University of Maryland Beth L. McGee USFWS Chesapeake Bay Field Office Andrew S. Kane Department of Veterinary Medicine University of Maryland |
||
| Programs | Issues |
|
|
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|