'New Study Finds Eostrogen has Detrimental and Surprising Effects on Freshwater Wildlife
New study finds estrogen has detrimental and surprising effects on freshwater wildlife' Online at www.iisd.org October 13, 2014 WINNIPEG—October 14 2014— The International Institute for Sustainable Development-Experimental Lakes Area (IISD-ELA) and the University of New Brunswick today release the findings of a study that show that the birth control pill has unexpected effects on aquatic ecosystems. The study, published in the most recent issue of a prestigious British science journal , found that introducing synthetic estrogen, found in the birth control pill, into a lake negatively affected the reproductive cycles of fathead minnow and led to a near extinction of the population. The estrogen interfered with the minnow’s ability to reproduce. Once minnow numbers dropped, other aquatic species responded to the loss in food supply or predation. This cascading response in the lake was unexpected and suggests the risks of estrogens in the surface waters may be underestimated. Estr...