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of their brains and their anatomical sex, while supporting their transition
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| Feminizing Of Male Wildlife Raises Alarm |
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| SciMed - Healthcare | |||
| TS-Si News Service | |||
| Tuesday, 09 December 2008 04:00 | |||
 Almondsbury, Bristol, UK. A report released by CHEM Trust provides hard data on how chemicals in the environment have harmed male fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. These findings highlight the widespread feminisation of male vertebrate wildlife, adding to mounting worries about the role of  hormone-disrupting (so-called gender-bending) chemicals and the implications for human health.There are increasing numbers of reports that document genital disruption in male mammals, including: intersex features (such as egg tissue in the testes of the male), small phallus and/or testes sizes, undescended testes; abnormal testes, or ambiguous genitals.
Species across the globe have been damaged, including polar bears in the Arctic and eland antelopes in Africa. The males of egg-laying species including fish, amphibians, birds, and reptiles have also been feminised by exposure to sex hormone disrupting chemicals and have been found to be abnormally making egg yolk protein — normally made by females. Affected species are widespread, and include UK estuary flounder, North Sea cod, Florida cane toads, Spanish peregrine falcons, and turtles from the Great Lakes in North America.
Effects of Pollutants on the Reproductive Health of Male Vertebrate Wildlife: Males Under Threat. Gwynne Lyons. CHEM Trust Report (December 2008)
 The Frog. An amphibian in the order Anura (Gr. an-oura; without + tail), frogs are some of the oldest living creatures.
The order contains 5,250 species in 33 families. Approximately 88% of amphibian species are frogs, distributed from tropic to subarctic regions. Most species found in tropical rainforests. They are among the most diverse groups of vertebrates.
Frogs and toads. Distinguished on the basis of their appearance, people often distinguish between frogs and toads. However, this is caused by the convergent adaptation of toads to dry environments.
Technically, they are all the same and the distinction has no taxonomic basis. Many species fit equally well into either category.
• The common name toad is generally given to those with dry, warty skin and short hind legs for walking (instead of jumping). Toads generally live in dry climates and lay their eggs in long chains.
• Frogs have smooth moist skin and strong webbed hind legs for swimming and jumping. Frogs usually live in moist climates and lay their eggs in clusters.
Population decline. Certain frog species have declined significantly since the 1950s. More than one third of all species are threatened with extinction; more than 120 species are suspected to be extinct since the 1980s.
Since frogs are especially sensitive to pollution, their condition often indicates previously unknown or underestimated environmental problems.
Deformities. Malformed reproductive organs are seen as the basis for the continuing decline of frog populations. Natural malformations can occur in 5 percent or fewer of the members in a given population.
However, there are populations where 70 percent show deformities.
Researchers are working to understand what outside source causes abnormal development in the frogs. Scientists have identified several candidate factors:
• Climate changes, such as global warming and the thinning of the ozone layer, can result in overexposure to ultraviolet radiation.
• Habitat destruction.
• Pollution looms as major source of deformities sonce frogs absorb water directly through their skin. They are particularly vulnerable to water pollutants like pesticides and acid rain.
In any case, the result had been diminishing populations around the world.  Gwynne Lyons, author of the report and director of CHEM Trust commented, “Urgent action is needed to control gender bending chemicals, and more resources are needed for monitoring wildlife. Man-made chemicals are clearly damaging the basic male tool-kit. If wildlife populations crash, it will be too late. Unless enough males contribute to the next generation, there is a real threat to animal populations in the long term.It has now been shown, beyond doubt, that several gender benders can act together as a mixture or cocktail to cause effects even when individually each chemical is below the concentration at which it would cause harm on its own. EU regulators must ensure legislation takes this real-world ‘mixture effect’ into account or reproduction will be put in jeopardy. Sadly, during negotiations of the forthcoming EU pesticides Regulation, the UK Government was one of just 3 Member States [N4] not to back the proposed tough controls to cut-off the use of hormone disrupting pesticides.
There are various ways that man-made hormone disrupting chemicals can undermine the sexual health of male wildlife. For example, chemicals which block the male hormone androgen, the so-called anti-androgenic chemicals, can cause un-descended testes and can feminise males. Similarly, some sex hormone disrupting chemicals can mimic oestrogen, the female hormone, and also feminise males.
Many man-made chemicals can block androgen action, and these include several pesticides and some phthalates, used in consumer products to make plastics flexible. Worryingly, a study of effluents from UK sewage works has found that around three quarters of these discharges have considerable anti-androgenic activity, [N5] and investigations are underway to identify the chemicals to blame.
Notes[N1] Health status of otters in Southern and South-West England 1996-2003. V.R. Simpson. (UK) Environment Agency (Bristol) Science Report SC010064/SRI. ISBN: 978-1-84432-7157. Download PDF.
[N2] Contact Elizabeth Chadwick, Tel: 02920 874046 [N3] Britain holds 40% of the total European harbour seal population, and the numbers of harbour seals in eastern England have not increased since the end of the 2002 phocine distemper epidemic. Indeed, apart from around the Inner Hebrides, there is evidence of a general decline in large harbour seal colonies around Britain. [N4] The others were Ireland and Romania. [N5] Assessment of the anti-oestrogenic and anti-androgenic activities of final effluents from sewage treatment works. I. Johnson, M. Hetheridge, M., Tyler. (UK) Environment Agency (Bristol) Report SC020118/SR. 2007. FundingThe Esmée Fairbairn Foundation supported preparation of the research report.
AuthorGwynne Lyons is the report author and director of CHEM Trust.
CitationEffects of Pollutants on the Reproductive Health of Male Vertebrate Wildlife: Males Under Threat. Gwynne Lyons. CHEM Trust Report (December 2008)Download PDF
Summary This paper provides a review of the reported effects on the reproductive health of male vertebrate wildlife, which are known or suspected to be associated with pollutants. Males of species from each of the main classes of animals in the vertebrate sub-phylum (including bony fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals) have been affected by chemicals in the environment, particularly chemicals with hormone disrupting properties. Man made chemicals that can disrupt the male and/or female sex hormone may adversely affect the ability of an organism to reproduce, although chemicals which affect reproduction by other mechanisms are also of concern. All vertebrates have similar sex hormone receptors, which have been conserved in evolution. Therefore, observations in one vertebrate wildlife species, may serve to highlight pollution issues of concern for other vertebrates, including humans. Indeed, given the widespread presence of endocrine disrupting chemicals in the environment, effects are likely to be occurring in more species than those currently reported. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) de-rail the body’s chemical messenger system, the hormones, and therefore this term is used interchangeably with the term ‘hormone disruptors’. Auxiliary signalling chemicals such as enzymes, growth factors, and so forth, may also be disrupted. There is much “cross talk” in the body, and, for example, pollutant related disruption of brain neurochemistry can be an early step in reproductive impairment (Basu and Head,2008). The mounting concern is such that between 1998 -2007 the European Commission invested 161 million Euros into research into the phenomenon of endocrine disruption.. The TS-Si News Service is a collaborative effort by TS-Si.org editors, contributors, and corresponding institutions. Sources can include the cited individuals and organizations, as well as TS-Si.org staff contributions. Articles and news reports do not necessarily convey official positions of TS-Si, its partners, or affiliates. We welcome your comments. Use the form below to leave a public comment or send private correspondence via the TS-Si Contact Page. We will not divulge any personal details or place you on a mailing list without your permission.TS-Si is dedicated to the acceptance, medical treatment, and legal protection of individuals correcting the misalignment of their brains and their anatomical sex, while supporting their transition into society as hormonally reconstituted and surgically corrected citizens.
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