The fish were found near vegetation growing near a waste water in Colorado. The scientists believe that chemicals that disrupt the hormonal activity found in the water caused the phenomenon
According to a report on the CNN website, fish with female and male tissue were discovered near vegetation growing near a sewage water in Colorado. The chemical that may cause this deformity has not yet been found and scientists are now trying to decide if chemicals that disrupt hormonal activity, such as estrogen, are responsible for the phenomenon.
These chemicals are usually found in birth control pills, and in natural female hormones that can be found on various types of cleaning products. These preparations usually reach the waste water through the toilets.
"We are very concerned about the matter," said Barbara Biggs, from the office that handles the wastewater, "we don't want to jump to conclusions yet, since there are many sources of estrogen in the environment."
The pollution changes the species of fish - fish stories: greenhouse gases harm them and now also the female hormones from pills
Fish populations could be harmed, the UK Environmental Protection Agency warned
17/7/2004
Around a third of the UK's male seagulls are in the process of changing sex due to pollution from human-made waste, the UK's Environment Protection Agency claims.
A study of 1,500 fish at 50 sites in British rivers reveals that over a third of the males showed female characteristics. Hormones found in sewage, including those created from female contraceptive pills are likely the main cause.
The agency states that a problem may be caused to the fish population by reducing their ability to reproduce. The study highlights the need for water companies to develop new water treatment measures to reduce pollution.
For some time there has been concern among environmentalists that chemicals known to be endocrine disruptors cause sex changes in fish.
The latest study is the first to show the severity of the problem in the UK.
Greenhouse gases also affect the animals in the sea
About half of the carbon dioxide produced by humans is absorbed by the ocean waters
Since the industrial revolution, humans have been emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, mainly due to burning fossil fuels and burning forests. In the last two decades, two international teams of scientists have examined the consequences of greenhouse gas emissions on life in the oceans. According to them, the result is manifested in chemical changes in the oceans that make it difficult for certain animals to create a skeleton or shell for themselves.
According to the estimation of the teams, who tested water samples of the oceans in different parts of the world and at different depths since the beginning of the 80s, about 48% of the total carbon dioxide emitted into the air was absorbed by the oceans. The researchers, who published the results of their research in the journal Science, state that this causes a change in the natural balance in the oceans, which is reflected in chemical changes that will make it difficult for different animals to develop. Some animals "pull" carbonate ions (a carbon compound) from the water, to add calcium to them, to create a substance known as calcium carbonate. This material is the building block of their skeleton or shell.
According to Dr. Maoz Payne, a marine biologist from the University of Queensland in Australia, "one of the dangers is that at certain depths, where the concentration of calcium carbonate drops below a certain level, the shells and skeletons made of calcium carbonate will begin to disintegrate and disintegrate." If the rate of emissions does not change, these areas in the oceans will expand.
