Research Programme on Endocrine Disruption
in the Marine Environment (EDMAR)
The research programme on endocrine disruption in the marine environment (EDMAR) began in 1998 and was completed at the end of 2001. EDMAR was the first large scale, and most detailed research, to investigate whether there was evidence of changes associated with endocrine (hormone) disruption in marine life and, if so, the possible causes and consequences.
Latest
A
report has now been published providing a short
summary of the EDMAR research programme, explaining the programme's objectives,
how they were approached and what results were obtained. It is aimed at
the interested, non-technical person. See also this News
Release.
Background
Previous work carried out by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) had demonstrated that populations of flounder (a common flatfish) in a number of UK estuaries exhibited symptoms of endocrine disruption, specifically those caused by exposure to oestrogens (feminising hormones) and their mimics. These symptoms included the presence of the egg yolk protein vitellogenin (VTG) in male blood plasma and the occurrence (in the Tyne and Mersey) of a condition known as intersex where ovarian tissue was found in the testes of male flounder. This and other work triggered the need for a much larger programme - EDMAR - to investigate whether there was evidence of changes in the reproductive health of marine life and, if so, identify the possible causes. The results from the programme will help to ensure that any actions necessary to protect the marine environment are targeted appropriately.
The programme was a joint initiative between Defra, the Environment Agency, the Scotland and Northern Ireland Forum for Environmental Research (SNIFFER) and the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) Long Range Research Initiative. The overall budget was over £1.5 million and the research was conducted by five major UK environmental laboratories:
- the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) laboratories at Burnham-on-Crouch, Lowestoft and Weymouth;
- the Plymouth Environmental Research Centre (PERC);
- the Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies (CMACS) at Liverpool University;
- the Fisheries Research Service (FRS) Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, East Kilbride;
- the AstraZeneca Environmental Laboratory, Brixham.
Related work was also undertaken at Glasgow Caledonian University.
During the programme, updates on progress were reported in a series of newsletters and research seminars. Many of the research outcomes have been published in the peer-reviewed scientific literature and several more papers are in preparation. See:
-
Issue 2 - August 1999 (Adobe Acrobat 1,095kb)
-
Issue 3 - November 2000 (Adobe Acrobat 1,371kb)
-
Report of First Annual EDMAR Seminar (Adobe Acrobat, 80kb)
- Report of Second Annual EDMAR
Seminar (Adobe Acrobat, 90kb)
Page published
15 March 2001;
Page last modified
17 December, 2002