>> THERE'S A LOT OF WATER FLOWING THROUGHOUT NORTH
CAROLINA.
THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY LISTS ROUGHLY
38,200 MILES OF STREAMS AND RIVERS IN THE STATE.
SOME ARE LARGE.
SOME ARE SMALL.
AND, IN GENERAL, THE AGENCY LISTS THE WATER QUALITY AS
FAIRLY GOOD.
THAT'S THANKS, IN PART, TO THE MORE THAN 150 WASTEWATER
TREATMENT PLANTS AROUND THE STATE.
THAT'S ACCORDING TO THE NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES.
THE FACILITIES WORK HARD TO REMOVE NUTRIENTS AND BACTERIA
FROM THE WATER THAT THEY DISCHARGE BACK INTO THE STATE'S
WATERWAYS.
>> IT'S STABILIZED.
24.4 DEGREES C.
>> 24.4 DEGREES.
>> pH IS 7.55.
>> BUT NOW SCIENTISTS ARE TAKING AN EVEN CLOSER LOOK AT THE
HEALTH OF NORTH CAROLINA'S RIVERS AND STREAMS.
THAT'S BECAUSE THERE IS A GROWING CONCERN ABOUT THE
EFFECTS OF THE MIX OF PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS AND
PHARMACEUTICALS THAT ARE FINDING THEIR WAY INTO THE WATER.
>> SO WE'RE INTERESTED IN WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF EVERYTHING
THAT WE PUT INTO OUR WASTE STREAMS FROM OUR HOMES, TO
BUSINESSES, TO THE UNIVERSITY.
UM, WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE COMPOUNDS AS THEY PASS THROUGH
THE SEWAGE EFFLUENT.
AND, ULTIMATELY, WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE RIVERS ONCE THEY HAVE
RECEIVED THOSE EFFLUENTS AND ALL THE MYRIAD OF COMPOUNDS THAT END
UP IN THAT WATER.
>> WHOOPS.
TROUT.
>> RAINBOW.
>> NICE.
>> THAT'S NICE.
>> DR.
SHEA TUBERTY AND SEVERAL GRADUATE STUDENTS ARE
ELECTROFISHING IN THE UPPER SOUTH FORK OF THE NEW RIVER.
A SMALL ELECTRICAL SHOCK STUNS THE FISH SO SCIENTISTS CAN STUDY
AND RELEASE THEM -- >> OKAY.
THAT WAS GOOD.
>> -- WITHOUT HARMING THE FISH.
TUBERTY'S BEEN STUDYING THIS STRETCH OF THE FAST-MOVING RIVER
FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS.
THE SECTION RUNS THROUGH BOONE AND PAST APPALACHIAN STATE
UNIVERSITY'S CAMPUS.
>> THOSE ARE THE BIG BLUE HEAD CHUB.
WE'LL GIVE HIM A CLOSER LOOK IN A FEW MINUTES.
>> WHILE ALL OF THE FISH COLLECTED ARE COUNTED, EXAMINED,
AND RELEASED, PARTICULAR ATTENTION IS PAID TO THE MALE
FISH.
>> THE FOCUS OF OUR RESEARCH HAS BEEN ON THE NON-GAME FISHES.
SO THINGS LIKE THESE GUYS.
THIS IS A BLUE HEAD CHUB.
THIS IS A MALE.
YOU CAN TELL IT'S A MALE BECAUSE IT'S GOT THESE TUBERCLE SCARS
OVER ITS HEAD HERE.
>> SCIENTISTS ARE FINDING EVIDENCE OF INTERSEXED FISH.
THAT MEANS MALE FISH TURNING INTO FEMALES.
AND SCIENTISTS ARE ASKING IF THAT'S BECAUSE OF THE INCREASE
IN ESTROGENIC COMPOUNDS THAT ARE BEING SENT DOWN TOILETS, SINKS,
AND SHOWERS.
>> SPECIFICALLY, WE'RE LOOKING FOR EFFECTS THAT MIMIC ESTROGENS
IN MALE FISHES IN AN ATTEMPT TO MEASURE WHAT PERCENT OF THE
POPULATION ARE FEMINIZED BY THIS SOUP OF COMPOUNDS THAT END UP IN
THE EFFLUENT, MANY OF WHICH END UP BEING ESTROGENIC, WHICH IS
THE TERM THAT GENERALLY MEANS THAT THEY'RE CAPABLE OF BINDING
THE ESTROGEN RECEPTORS AND ELICITING THE RESPONSES OF
ENDOGENOUS ESTROGENS.
THEN WE'RE LOOKING FOR A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT INDICATE
ESTROGEN -- ESTROGENIC EFFECTS.
SO WE COULD DRAW BLOOD AND LOOK FOR EGG PROTEINS BEING CARRIED
THROUGH THE BLOOD SYSTEM.
THOSE ARE CALLED VITELLOGENINS.
WE COULD ACTUALLY SACRIFICE THE ANIMALS AND DISSECT OUT THE
TESTES TO SEE IF, IN FACT, THEY HAVE OOCYTES OR EGGS DEVELOPING
WITHIN THE TESTES, WHICH INDICATES A CONDITION CALLED
INTERSEX, WHICH IS COMMONLY USED TO INDICATE ESTROGENIC EFFECTS
IN POPULATIONS, OR YOU COULD LOOK AT THE CIRCULATING
CONCENTRATIONS OF SEX HORMONES AS -- AS THEY MIGHT BE MODIFIED
BY EXPOSURE.
>> ESTROGEN IS A HORMONE THAT IS IMPORTANT FOR SEXUAL AND
REPRODUCTIVE DEVELOPMENT IN FEMALES.
WHILE TREATMENT PLANTS HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY REMOVING NUTRIENTS,
BACTERIA AND CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS FOR YEARS, THERE ARE SOME
ESTROGENIC COMPOUNDS THAT AREN'T REMOVED.
THE AMOUNT OF ESTROGENIC COMPOUNDS IN THE WATER IS SMALL,
AND THE WATER IS CONSIDERED SAFE FOR HUMANS.
THE FISH ARE SAFE TO EAT AS WELL.
SO FAR IT APPEARS THAT NOT MANY FISH ARE AFFECTED.
>> IT'S MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY RELEVANT FOR A FISH ESTROGEN
RECEPTOR VERSUS A HUMAN BECAUSE FISH ARE MORE SENSITIVE BECAUSE
THEY HAVE THREE ESTROGEN RECEPTORS WHERE HUMANS ONLY HAVE
TWO ESTROGEN RECEPTORS.
SO THEY COULD PICK UP MORE SENSITIVITY.
>> BUT WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE FISH IS A CONCERN BECAUSE IF THE
NUMBER OF TRANSFORMING FISH GROWS, IT COULD AFFECT THE FISH
POPULATION IN THE RIVER.
THERE SIMPLY WOULDN'T BE ENOUGH MALE FISH TO REPRODUCE.
>> SO IF YOU -- IF YOU SEE LESS POPULATIONS OF FISH, YOU KNOW
THERE'S PROBABLY LESS REPRODUCTION GOING ON.
SO MOST LIKELY CAUSED BY, UH, ESTROGENIC COMPOUNDS AND
CHANGING THE MALE-TO-FEMALE RATIO OF THE POPULATIONS.
>> SCIENTISTS ARE WORKING TO PIN DOWN THE SOURCE OF THE
ESTROGENIC COMPOUNDS.
IT IS POSSIBLE THERE ISN'T JUST ONE SOURCE.
>> THERE'S BEEN DECADES OF DATA TO SHOW THAT DOZENS OF DIFFERENT
CLASSES OF COMPOUNDS CAN ACTUALLY INTERACT WITH ESTROGEN
RECEPTORS AND HUNDREDS OF DIFFERENT ACTUAL MOLECULES OR
COMPOUNDS THAT WE USE IN OUR DAY-TO-DAY BUSINESS CAN ACTUALLY
BE ESTROGENIC.
SO IT'S MORE THE SOUP EFFECT, THE COMBINATION OF SLIGHT
EFFECTS HERE AND THERE, DIFFERENT CONCENTRATIONS OF MANY
DIFFERENT COMPOUNDS, THAT ELICIT THE RESPONSE.
>> THE UPPER FORK OF THE NEW RIVER IS PART OF THE NEW RIVER
BASIN, WHICH RUNS THROUGH NORTH CAROLINA AND VIRGINIA.
THERE ARE NINE RIVER BASINS IN NORTH CAROLINA.
ALL OF THE WATERWAYS EVENTUALLY DRAIN INTO THE SEA.
AND THAT'S ANOTHER CONCERN.
SCIENTISTS ARE FINDING BLUE CRABS, WHICH LIVE ALONG THE
COAST, ALSO SHOWING EVIDENCE OF THE EFFECTS OF ESTROGENIC
COMPOUNDS.
>> THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
THAT IS A COLLAPSABLE CRAB POT.
WE'RE GONNA USE THIS BIT OF STRING IN THE MIDDLE TO TIE A
CHICKEN LEG ON THERE.
WE'VE GOT A DRUMSTICK TODAY.
IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER WHAT KIND OF CHICKEN YOU USE.
AND WE'RE JUST GOING TO DEPLOY IT OVER THE SIDE OF THE BOAT
ONCE WE FIND A GOOD SPOT WHERE WE THINK THERE'S LIKELY TO BE
SOME CRABS.
CRABS MOSTLY WORK OFF OF CHEMORECEPTION, AND THEY'RE
NOT -- THEY DON'T HAVE THE BEST EYESIGHT IN THE WORLD.
NOT TO SAY THEY'RE BLIND BY ANY MEANS, BUT SO THEY'RE LIKELY
GOING TO SMELL IT IN THE WATER.
>> THE MASONBORO SOUND, NOT FAR FROM WILMINGTON, IS ONE OF FOUR
SAMPLING LOCATIONS FOR A STUDY OF BLUE CRABS.
THE SOUND IS A TIDAL ESTUARY, WHICH MIXES SALTWATER FROM THE
SEA AND FRESHWATER FROM THE LAND.
IT TURNS OUT THAT CRABS, ESPECIALLY BLUE CRABS, ARE GOOD
INDICATORS OF WATER QUALITY BECAUSE THEY FILTER SO MUCH
WATER THROUGH THEIR SYSTEMS.
>> THE KIND OF STUFF THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IN THESE CRABS IS
GOING TO KIND OF INDICATE WATER QUALITY AND KIND OF HEALTH
ISSUES THAT COULD, IN THE FUTURE, IF WE KEEP KIND OF
POURING STUFF INTO WATER SYSTEMS THE WAY WE ARE, IT COULD REALLY
END UP KIND OF AFFECTING US.
>> THE CRAB POPULATIONS HAVE BEEN DECLINING, AND WE WANT TO
SEE WHAT KIND OF HORMONAL RESPONSES OR ANY KIND OF
ECO-TOXICOLOGICAL EFFECTS HAVE BEEN DONE TOWARDS CRABS.
>> THE CRABS ARE ANALYZED IN A LAB AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH
CAROLINA WILMINGTON.
>> WE NOT ONLY COLLECT HEPATOPANCREAS.
WE ALSO HAVE BEEN COLLECTING SPONGE OR THE EGGS AND, UM, THE
OVARIES.
IF THIS WAS A MALE, UH, WE WOULD ALSO BE LOOKING -- WE WOULD BE
GETTING THE VAS DEFERENS, WHICH CARRY THE SPERM.
>> IN ADDITION, A TISSUE SAMPLE IS TAKEN FROM THE REPRODUCTIVE
ORGANS TO STUDY THE RNA, OR RIBONUCLEIC ACID.
RNA IS A MOLECULE THAT CARRIES GENETIC INFORMATION AND GUIDES
THE PRODUCTION OF PROTEINS WHICH REGULATE THE WORK OF CELLS.
>> YOU'RE GETTING A SEPARATION OF THE DIFFERENT BIOLOGICAL
MOLECULES IN THIS TISSUE SAMPLE HERE.
AND SO AT THE TOP YOU HAVE YOUR RNA.
IN THE MIDDLE, THIS WHITE PART IS THE DNA.
AND THEN AT THE BOTTOM YOU HAVE YOUR PROTEINS.
AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE DOWN HERE THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF
YELLOWISH.
THOSE ARE THE LIPIDS.
>> SCIENTISTS WANT TO SEE IF THE CRAB RNA CARRIES THE CODE FOR
THE GENE VITELLOGENIN.
IT'S A PROTEIN FOUND IN THE FUTURE FISH'S EGG YOLK THAT
SHOULD ONLY BE FOUND IN FEMALES.
IT SHOULD NOT BE FOUND IN MALES.
>> SO FEMALE CRABS SHOULD BE EXPRESSING THIS GENE DURING THE
REPRODUCTIVE SEASON.
IT'S THE GENE THAT EVENTUALLY -- IT'S TRANSLATED INTO THE PROTEIN
THAT BECOMES THE EGG YOLK FOR ALL THOSE WONDERFUL EGGS THEY'RE
GOING TO PRODUCE.
UM, NOW, THE JURY'S STILL OUT ON THIS, BUT SOME STUDIES HAVE
FOUND THAT MALE CRABS EXPOSED TO CHEMICALS THAT DISRUPT ENDOCRINE
FUNCTION ALSO PRODUCE THIS GENE IN THEIR HEPATOPANCREAS.
THEY SHOULDN'T BE PRODUCING IT, BUT SOME OF THEM DO.
THE MECHANISM BEHIND THAT IS A LITTLE BIT FUZZY, BUT WHAT WE
WANT TO DO IS LOOK AT THE CRABS FROM OUR FOUR DIFFERENT SITES
AND COMPARE EXPRESSION LEVELS WITH THE HYPOTHESIS BEING THAT
CRABS AT THE SITES THAT ARE MORE PRISTINE, UM, THE MALES WOULDN'T
EXPRESS VITELLOGENIN, WHEREAS CRABS FROM SITES THAT ARE MORE
POLLUTED, MORE STRESSED, YOU WOULD SEE MALES POTENTIALLY
EXPRESSING VITELLOGENIN.
>> THE RESEARCH WAS PROMPTED AFTER CRABBERS IN VIRGINIA AND
MARYLAND BEGAN NOTICING DECLINES IN THEIR CATCHES.
CONCERN WAS INCREASED AFTER NORTH CAROLINA CRABBERS NOTICED
THE SAME DECLINES AS WELL.
AND THERE WAS EVEN MORE CONCERN AFTER REPORTS OF FINDING
INTERSEXED CRABS IN MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA.
THE BOTTOM LINE, CRABS ARE SAFE TO EAT.
THEY ARE SAFE TO CATCH.
THE GOAL OF THE RESEARCH IS TO KEEP IT THAT WAY.
AND SCIENTISTS SAY THE EASIEST WAY FOR RESIDENTS TO HELP KEEP
THE WATER CLEAN IS TO DISPOSE OF PHARMACEUTICALS AT MEDICINE
COLLECTION POINTS AND NOT DOWN THE DRAIN.
>> THEY KEPT ASKING WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT, AND THAT WAS THE
FIRST, YOU KNOW, LOW-HANGING FRUIT YOU CAN PICK, IS, YOU
KNOW, STOP FLUSHING YOUR PHARMACEUTICALS DOWNSTREAM BY
PUTTING THEM IN THE TOILET, WHICH, YOU KNOW, ALL THE
PACKAGING, NOT TOO LONG AGO, WAS ACTUALLY USING THAT AS THE
PREFERED METHOD OF ERRADICATION.