Dutch title: Spermakwaliteit van vissen als indicator voor milieuverontreiniging Funder identifier: 3E970602 (Other contract id) Period: December 1997 till November 2000 Status: Completed
Stocks of both freshwater and marine fish within the European Union are invreasingly threatened by aquatic pollution, but no data are available on the extent by which fertility of individual species has been decreased. The aim of the project is to develop a methodology which will measure the impact of environmental pollutants on the viability of fish sperm. and assess the impact of aquatic pollution on fish stocks within the EU. Sperm motility will be measured using Computer Assisted Sperm Analysis (CASA) of video recordings taken of sperm which has been exposed to pollutants. We will also develop an artificial model of a spawing fish so that gametes may be released in similar conditions as in the wild. Such model will allow to determine the real impact of pollution on fertilization capacity. Any changes induced by pollutants in the sperm morphology will be investigated using scanning and transmission electron microscopy.
