DEFUR, Peter L.; Virginia Commonwealth Univ.: Importance of Invertebrate Models for EDC’s in the Field

The topic of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) has become a central topic in research and for environmental programs around the world during the last decade. Most of the work on EDC�s has been devoted to vertebrates, partly from concern over human health threats from widespread exposures. Other vertebrates have received substantially less attention; invertebrates have been all but ignored. The phenomenon of endocrine disruption in invertebrates has been known and described for more than three decades. Additionally, invertebrates have been used as model test systems for detecting environmental contaminants for many decades, principally in soil and water. EDC�s are best known in invertebrates as pesticides that act on juvenile hormone systems of insects and, to a lesser extent, on molting hormones. Insecticides that act as EDC�s were first developed thirty years ago as juvenile hormone disruptors. These same chemicals are also known to act on crustaceans, owing to the similarity of the hormone systems in insects and crustaceans. Field and lab studies indicate that gastropods are susceptible to several types of EDC�s. The best known gastropod EDC is the antifouling biocide tributyltin (TBT) used in ship hull treatments. TBT alters normal sexual development with impacts on populations in the field, described around the world on more than 135 species. Recent work on polychaetes indicates that this group is also sensitive to some known EDC�s. This great diversity of biological systems of invertebrates makes them ideal for monitoring EDC�s in field assessments in a range of habitats and conditions.