Elevated whole brain arginine vasotocin with Aroclor 1254 exposure in two Syngnathus pipefishes.

The neurohypophysial hormone arginine vasotocin (AVT) and the neuroendocrine system strongly interact with the rest of the teleostean endocrine system. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of exposure to an endocrine disruptor on whole brain AVT concentrations for the pipefishes Syngnathus floridae and S. fuscus. Following treatment over the entire brood period, AVT concentrations were significantly higher for Aroclor 1254-exposed, post-brooding males compared to controls for both species. Considering both previously documented seventeen-fold increases in AVT for brooding males with embryos in some developmental stages and changes in parental nutrient concentrations after Aroclor 1254 exposure, these data begin to address potential physiological mechanisms that may underlie paternal activities in syngnathid males.