Big Muddy Speaker Series

Presentation by Diana Papoulias, PhD, retired biologist with US Geological Survey Columbia Environmental Research Center

NOTE: Kansas City Big Muddy Speaker Series is now taking place on the fourth Tuesday of the month. This month’s presentation is at a special location – the offices of Healthy Rivers Partnership in the West Bottoms!

Healthy Rivers Partnership Office – 815 Woodswether Rd, Kansas City, MO.

6 p.m. Social Hour & Dinner

• We will be serving chili (with meat or vegetarian), crackers and a drink (beer,wine,tea,coke) – Suggested donation – $10. More drinks and dessert available for additional donation.

7 p.m. Presentation

Sorry – there is no live streaming tonight. However, a recording will be posted here soon!

Presentation is FREE and open to the public!

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.

This dissection of an intersex sturgeon shows both male and female reproductive tissue. photo courtesy of Diana Papoulias, USGS.

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 endocrine disrupting chemicals.

Diana will describe the reproductive effects they’ve documented in fish, what is known about the chemical contaminants in the Missouri River, and the pathways for how these chemicals are causing such dramatic changes in fish.

Directions

From the East –

• Take I-70 west. Exit at the Broadway Bridge downtown.
• Take a right and stay in right lane. Instead of continuing onto the bridge, veer right of bridge entrance to go under bridge.
• At Stop Sign, veer left onto Woodswether Rd.
• Turn left on Madison. You can either park along Madison or park near the caboose park further down the road. Heathy Rivers Partnership is the building at the corner of Woodswether and Madison. The entrance is a gate on Madison.

From the West –

• Take I-70 East. Exit at the Broadway Bridge downtown.
• Take a left and stay in right lane. Instead of continuing onto the bridge, veer right of bridge entrance to go under bridge.
• At Stop Sign, veer left onto Woodswether Rd.
• Turn left on Madison. You can either park along Madison or park near the caboose park further down the road. Heathy Rivers Partnership is the building at the corner of Woodswether and Madison. The entrance is a gate on Madison.

Here’s a map that shows a few other ways from I-670. Thank you to Healthy Rivers Partnership for hosting the Big Muddy Speaker Series this month!