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Intersex (testicular oocytes) in largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides ) on the Delmarva Peninsula, USA
Author(s) -
Yonkos Lance T.,
Friedel Elizabeth A.,
Fisher Daniel J.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.2544
Subject(s) - micropterus , bass (fish) , biology , fishery , peninsula , centrarchidae , ecology
The authors describe the prevalence and severity of intersex in the form of testicular oocytes in largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides ) collected over a 5‐yr period from a variety of surface waters on the Delmarva Peninsula, USA, a region dominated by poultry production and agricultural land use. During a survey from 2005 to 2007 of approximately 200 male specimens representing 6 fish and 2 frog species collected from numerous small‐order streams on Delmarva, intersex was observed in only largemouth bass (system‐wide prevalence 17%). During 2008 and 2009, testicular oocytes were encountered in male largemouth bass from 6 lakes and 1 large river system, with prevalence ranging from 33% to 88% (weighted arithmetic mean, 57%). The prevalence of testicular oocytes in largemouth bass from Delmarva lakes was comparable to the highest levels reported in a national US Geological Survey reconnaissance of this species, which also occurred in regions of the Atlantic coastal plain with intensive row‐crop and animal agriculture. To the authors' knowledge, the present study represents the first report in the peer‐reviewed scientific literature of testicular oocytes in fish on the Delmarva Peninsula. Environ Toxicol Chem 2014;33:1163–1169 . © 2014 SETAC