LONGNOSE DACE RESPONSES TO CONTAMINANTS IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA RIVERS · 2016-01-22 · LONGNOSE DACE RESPONSES TO CONTAMINANTS IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA RIVERS Lee Jackson Professor and Associate

LONGNOSE DACE RESPONSES TO CONTAMINANTSIN SOUTHERN ALBERTA RIVERS

Lee Jackson

Professor and Associate Head (Graduate)Department of Biological Sciences

Executive Director - ACWA

Advancing Canadian Wastewater Assets (ACWA) Provides Innovative Collaborations and Exciting Research Opportunities

A SOCIETAL PROBLEM

Birth control pills, cancer drugs and a host of other pharmaceuticals that people flush down the drain every day are showing up in our drinking water, says Gord Miller, Ontario's environmental commissioner.

Last Updated: Monday, March 27, 2006 | 11:17 AM ET

"We need to do a better job of keeping drugs out of lakes, rivers and drinking water," Miller told the Kitchener‐Waterloo Record on Wednesday.

Although the drugs are not considered a threat to human health, there is evidence that they can harm wildlife.

RELATED LINK: Antidepressant drugs found in drinking water; pharmaceuticals have now become environmental pollutants

"There is no health hazard in drinking water now that has been detected in Canada, but we have detected substances in drinking water," he said, adding that the problem is likely to get worse rather than better as the population grows.

Pill‐popping society fouling our water, official says

•Decreased sperm mobility over the last 50 years

•Increased rates of cancers under hormonal control (breast, ovarian, testicular, prostrate)

•Individuals present at a younger age

A: Maybe we are; maybe we aren’t…..

Issues to ponder….

THE CHALLENGE – ARE PEOPLE SAFE?


Many environmental studies….

Florida AlligatorsFish downstream of wastewater effluent inputsTurtles in Ontario wetlandsAmphibians in IllinoisMarine mammals

…. Provide abundant evidence of endocrine disruption in field populations

?

The water in which these fish live……

….. is the water we drink


This presents a problem…..

For obvious reasons we can’t conduct the experiments required to test hypotheses regarding human exposure to EDCs……



What is the message we should take from studies on wildlife (ie, what is our risk)?

TRADITIONAL ECOTOXICOLOGY

Contaminantof

Concern

Dose

Res

pons

e

Dose

Res

pons

e

To theField

Often we cannot predict patterns in the field….

• Chemicals are not present by themselves

• Organisms experience natural stress that is unrelated to contaminants

X

TRADITIONAL ECOTOXICOLOGY

Ask biota to tell us where there are problems pituitary ovaries

liver

gonadotropins

estrog

en

vitello

genin

A DIFFERENT APPROACH

eggs

“Effects‐based”

MESSAGES FROM LONGNOSE DACE

Rhinichthys cataractae

Highway 2

Highway 3APopson Park

Pavan Park

Highway 845

TaberHighway 36Olin Bridge

Oldman River


Bow River

BonnybrookBonnybrook

Bragg CreekBragg Creek Glenmore

ReservoirGlenmore Reservoir


April 2005

Olin Hwy 2 Hwy 3A Popson Pavan Hwy 845 Taber Hwy 36

CPUE (fish/50

00 secon

ds of e

ffort)

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000Ft. MacLeod Lethbridge

Oldman River


From: Jeffries, KM (2007) MSc Thesis, University of Calgary

Ft. MacLeod Lethbridge

April 2005Males


Rel

ativ

e vi

tello

geni

n ex

pres

sion

(Vtg

:18s

)

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

From: Jeffries, Nelson, Jackson & Habibi (2008) Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 27: 2042-2052

Oldman RiverMESSAGES FROM LONGNOSE DACE


Rel

ativ

e vi

tello

geni

n ex

pres

sion

(Vtg

:18s

)Ft. MacLeod Lethbridge


April 2005Females


April 2005


Sex Ra

tio (%

adu

lts that are fe

male)

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100Ft. MacLeod Lethbridge



MESSAGES FROM LONGNOSE DACE Oldman River

From: JS MacNeil, BSc Thesis, in progress


August 2009

** no data




August 2009




Sex Ra

tio (%

adu

lts that are fe

male) August 2009

MESSAGES FROM LONGNOSE DACE Bow River

From: S Henderson, MSc Thesis, in progress

Sex Ra

tio (%

adu

lts that are fe

male)

September 2009


Normal Testis

Spermatozoa

Normal Ovary

Early stage Oocyte

Later stage Oocyte


Oocytes

Testicular Tissue

AND


Oldman River

• Male dace vitellogenin upregulated throughout basin• Evidence exists for downregulation of female vitellogenin• Female‐biased sex ratios exist at a number of sites• Patterns are consistent through time

Bow River

• Male dace vitellogenin upregulated throughout basin• Evidence exists for downregulation of female vitellogenin• Female‐biased sex ratios exist at a number of sites• Temporal pattern unknown (except male vitellogenin)

BROAD PATTERNS LOOK SIMILAR

SAFE AND SECURESAFE AND SECUREWATER SUPPLYWATER SUPPLY

PUBLICPUBLICHEALTHHEALTH

GLOBAL ISSUESGLOBAL ISSUES

LOCAL OPPORTUNITIES LOCAL OPPORTUNITIES

““ INTERNATIONAL CLASSINTERNATIONAL CLASS”” SOLUTIONSSOLUTIONS


ADVANCING CANADIAN WASTEWATER ADVANCING CANADIAN WASTEWATER ASSETS ASSETS RESEARCH FACILITYRESEARCH FACILITY

A UNIQUE FACILITY TO A UNIQUE FACILITY TO UNDERTAKE LEADING UNDERTAKE LEADING

WASTEWATER RESEARCHWASTEWATER RESEARCH

ACWA FacilityACWA Facility

12 Replicated Experimental Research Streams

Novel EngineeringTechnologies

ACWA FacilityACWA Facility

Engineering Modules:

Two, parallel, 0.25 mega litre/day linesTest advanced wastewater treatment (filtration, oxidation)

to improve efficiency and remove contaminantsCan be pushed to failureWill feed experimental streams

Experimental Research Streams:

Can receive Bow River waterCan receive engineering module effluent~ 325 x 1.5 m with 10 pool/riffle combinations 12 streams provides true experimental replicationemerging contaminants can be dosed via headworkswater can be retreated through Pine Ck plantwill be “seeded” with native species and experimental populations

SAFE & SECURE WATER SUPPLY SAFE & SECURE WATER SUPPLY PUBLIC HEALTHPUBLIC HEALTH

Source WaterSource WaterProtectionProtection

Safe Treatment and DistributionSafe Treatment and Distribution

Safe Safe WastewaterWastewaterDischargeDischarge

ACWA

Documents

LONGNOSE DACE RESPONSES TO CONTAMINANTS IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA RIVERS · 2016-01-22 · LONGNOSE DACE RESPONSES TO CONTAMINANTS IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA RIVERS Lee Jackson Professor and Associate