Sand goby (Pomatoschistus minutus) males exposed to an endocrine disrupting chemical fail in nest and mate competition

Minna Saaristo, John A. Craft, Kari Lehtonen, Kai Lindström

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

65 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are a widely studied group of chemicals that interfere with the endocrinology of organisms. So far, few studies have demonstrated the effect of EDCs on the reproductive behavior of aquatic wildlife. Here we show that sand goby males' (Pomatoschistus minutus) success in mating competition greatly decreases after an exposure for 7 to 24 days to 17a-ethinyl estradiol (EE2, measured concentration 4 ng L- 1). The sand goby exhibits a polygynous mating system with male parental care, in which males compete for nest sites and females. The aim of this study was to test how EE2 exposure affects the ability of males to compete for breeding resources, i.e. nest sites and mates.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)315-321
Number of pages7
JournalHormones and Behavior
Volume56
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2009

Keywords

  • sand goby
  • synthetic estrogens
  • reproductive behavior
  • endocrine disrupting chemical
  • EE2

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