Fisheries Research Makes Cover of Environmental Science & Technology

Story by Wendy Mayer

November 12, 2019

Marisol Sepúlveda, Purdue University professor of ecology and natural systems and associate head for research, and Dave Coulter, postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences at Southern Illinois University, had their work featured on the cover and inside Environmental Science & Technology Magazine’s Oct. 1, 2019 issue.

Sepulveda was co-author of the piece entitled “Lifelong Exposure to Dixin-Like PCBs Alters Paternal Offspring Care Behavior and Reduces Male Fish Reproductive Success,” while Coulter, a former PhD student under Sepúlveda and Tomas Höök, professor of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, at Purdue, was the lead author.

The paper details a laboratory experiment designed to identify the mechanisms by which polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) contamination affects male reproductive contribution from individuals to populations. The experiment saw male fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) dosed with one of two PCB mixtures throughout their lives. Once mature, the minnows were bred with uncontaminated females and evaluated the effects on:

Expression of genes from brain tissue involved in reproductive endocrine pathways
Testicular cellular development
Secondary sexual characteristics
Courtship and reproductive behavior
Offspring survival
Long-term offspring performance

To read the full summary of the experiment view Lifelong Exposure to Dioxin-Like PCBs Alters Paternal Offspring Care Behavior and Reduces Male Fish Reproductive Success.

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