- Scientists now fear that seals, dolphins, otters, birds such
asperegrine falcons and even honey bees are heading towards
- a unisex existence that would lead to extinction.
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- Mother Nature Is Taking Over
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- An extraordinary feminisation process has begun to affect Britain's
wildlife - and scientists warn it could ultimately dismantle the
evolutionary process that has existed for 3.5billion years. A trend
first noted in whelks is starting to spread rapidly among other wildlife
species in the food chain.
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- The first national survey of 42 rivers by the UK Environment Agency
has just been completed and it found that a third of male fish are
growing female reproductive tissues and organs. Effects were most
pronounced in younger fish, raising grave implications for future
stocks.
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- More Species Affected
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- Scientists now fear that seals, dolphins, otters, birds such
asperegrine falcons and even honey bees are heading towards a unisex
existence that would lead to extinction.
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- Blame has fallen on the increasing prevalence of a group of
chemicals known as endocrine disruptors. These are found in plastics,
food packaging, shampoos and pesticides and accumulate in the
environment.
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- They can mimic the female hormone oestrogen when ingested. A
reduction in the size of male genitals, a lower sex drive and parts of
the testes turning into ovary tissue are among the symptoms. As the
effect of the chemicals starts to creep up the food chain, concern will
mount over the potential effect on human health amid increasing evidence
of falling sperm counts and infertility among men.
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- A Very Real Concern
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- Charles Tyler, professor of environmental and molecular fish biology
at the University of Exeter in south-west England, who is leading an
international team studying the impact of so-called `gender-bending'
chemicals, warns that a point where a species can no longer reproduce is
a very real concern.
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- Others studying the phenomenon say the feminisation process is a
warning from nature that a nightmare is about to unfold. Pressure will
again resume soon on politicians to curb the use of `gender-bending'
chemicals.
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- Environmentalists will point to research revealing that honeybees,
so vital for the pollination of plants, were found to display a lower
sex drive with fewer eggs laid by the queen after exposure to endocrine
disruptors.
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- They also point to recent studies involving bottlenose dolphins in
the North Sea. Again, the presence of chemicals has been linked to an
increase in birth defects, most notable among male specimens, along with
more infant deaths, which has resulted in an ageing of the population.
So far the U.K. government has agreed to fund studies into suspicions
that the otter's comeback after decades of decline will be hampered by
the feminising effects of the chemicals.
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- Ignorance Shows Up
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- A separate study has just been funded into the dipper, a bird, which
feeds on invertebrates taken from the rivers. Tyler is among those who
have complained that the huge gap in scientific knowledge over gender
bending pollutants has so far prevented any action in the outlawing of
chemicals.
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- Toxicology expert Andreas Kortenkamp of the University of London's
school of pharmacy, believes the government has `grossly underestimated'
the chemicals' effects. He believes that current safeguards to protect
wildlife are grossly inadequate. In particular, he warns that nothing is
being done to calculate how cocktails of chemicals react in the
environment. More than 100,000 synthetic chemicals remain authorised for
use, with the European Union holding a list of 550 potential endocrine
disruptors.
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- It is not yet known precisely which ones have altered the male
reproductive organs of bream, carp, roach and gudgeon or caused hormone
disruption among grey seal pups in the North Sea. Bees were found to be
affected by chemicals used commonly on crops in the U.K. countryside.
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- The findings coincide with renewed concern over fertility levels
among men. Sperm counts have fallen by a third between 1989 and 2002,
according to some studies, while one in six British couples now
experiences difficulty in conceiving.
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- Contaminated drinking water caused by the by-products of the
contraceptive pill flowing back into the system is one of the
explanations put forward.
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- Justin Woolford, a spokesman for the WWF (formerly the World Wide
Fund for Nature), said: "What we do to wildlife we ultimately do to
ourselves.'' Yet almost two years have passed since the WHO urged
governments to investigate the effects of gender-bending chemicals.
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- Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004 Copyright © 2004, The
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