Big Muddy Speaker Series presents:

Presentation by – Diana Papoulias, PhD, Research Fish Biologist –  US Geological Survey Columbia Environmental Research Center

Original Presentations:

• Tuesday, July 9, 2013, at Les Bourgeois Bistro in Rocheport, MO
• Tuesday, October 28, 2014, at Healthy Rivers Partnership Office, Kansas City, MO
• Click here to watch a video of Diana’s presentation recorded by KCDV. 
• 7-9-13_dianapapoulias_intersexsturgeon

In 2000, research fish biologist Diana Papoulias began documenting an uptick in previously rare cases of intersex shovelnose sturgeon. These Missouri River fish were developing both male and female reproductive organs.

Those fish were shovelnose sturgeon, which are considered a valid experimental surrogate for the federally endangered pallid sturgeon. Diana's discovery began more than a decade of research into this phenomena, focusing on finding the chemical and environmental causes that are present in Missouri River water that might be effecting the reproduction of the pallid.

This research has been ongoing during a period when a lot of research into "emerging contaminants" in our water supply has shown disturbing effects of phyto-estrogen compounds and other endocrine disrupting chemicals.