Studies have found that chemical pollutants disrupt the reproduction of anemone fish

Unfortunately, marine pollution is becoming more and more common, and people are beginning to pay attention to the effects of chemicals that seep into the water

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals—interfering with the way the body’s hormones work—can hinder the normal reproduction of animals

Jose Gonzalez, a former undergraduate researcher of the Rhodes research team, said: “For example, in Indonesia, beautiful coral reefs are found under a lot of garbage, so anything that enters the water will affect fish

Psychology professor Justin Rhodes (GNDP) said: “Previous studies have confirmed that these pollutants will feminize animals such as freshwater fish, rats, mice, and even humans

Monocular butterflies live in small groups, including a female leader, a male beta, and lower-status non-reproductive males

"We specialize in these fishes because they can transform from male to female, which helps us understand how BPA and EE2 affect reproduction," said Sarah Craig, an undergraduate research assistant in the Rhodes group

The researchers paired sexually immature male fish and fed them two normal foods containing bisphenol a or EE2 twice a day

"Because these fish can change sex, we observed different indicators such as behavior, gene expression in the brain, and hormone levels," said Abigail Sisterd, an undergraduate research assistant in the Rhodes group

Researchers found that fish fed with BPA had no testicular tissue and lower androgen levels, just like female fish, the expression of genes responsible for feminization in the brain increased

Rhodes said: "In nature, this female is very aggressive and cannot tolerate the presence of other females

It is not clear how BPA works

However, the implications of the research results are clear

Researchers are very interested in further studying the role of EE2

"Comparing the degree of feminization of BPA and natural feminization, it's best in a longer time frame
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Maybe they will eventually fight and kill each other, which is something we missed in a shorter period of time," Rhodes said
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