nothin Mud Minnow Is Safe — For Now | New Haven Independent

Mud Minnow Is Safe — For Now

David Yaffe-Bellany Photo

The Quinnipiac River at sunset.

The mummichog.

It lives in a river with a history of abuse and pollution. It swims in waters filled with hard-to-filter chemicals.

Despite that discouraging environment, an expert told a riverine gathering, the male mummichog is in OK shape, for the time being.

John Kelly, a marine biologist at the University of New Haven, explained the challenges facing the mummichog, as well as the other fish living in the Quinnipiac River, at a talk hosted by the New Haven Land Trust Thursday evening (and supported by the Quinnipiac River Fund) at the Quinnipiac Meadows Nature Preserve.

I assume I’m not talking to a group of fish biologists,” he said, by way of introduction. I rarely run into a group of fish biologists.”

In his talk, he detailed one of the primary threats facing the river’s fish population: chemicals known as endocrine disruptors” that are contained in pesticides and fertilizers, among other everyday products.

According to Kelly, exposing male fish to endocrine disruptors unsettles their hormonal makeup, leading to gender changes that can upset the population balance.

He added that even the most up-to-date wastewater facilities lack the expensive, specialized technology required to keep those chemicals from flowing into the river. 

Last summer Kelly spent months conducting research on the river, hoping to determine whether those hard-to-filter chemicals had affected the development of the mummichog — a salt-water fish known as the mud minnow” — and longnose dace fish populations.

He was surprised to learn that, at least for the time being, the fish remain unaffected.

He reached that conclusion by checking male fish for signs of a protein called vitellogenin that typically travels from the liver to the ovaries of female fish, where it forms a sort of yolk.

He tested male fish for the female protein, a potential indicator of chemically induced hormonal changes. And, to his surprise, he didn’t find any.

Kelly.

I have a reasonably good, happy message for you,” Kelly said. This river is doing all right.”

His findings are especially encouraging given the Quinnipiac’s long history of pollution.

During the Industrial Revolution of the late 1800s, the river served as a convenient dumping ground for New Haven factories. It was not until the passage of two key piece of legislation in the late 1960s and early 70s that the pollution began to abate.

Kelly — a skilled teacher who seemed comfortable explaining difficult concepts without resorting to science jargon — moved to New Haven seven years ago after a teaching stint at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

He quickly became fascinated with the 45-mile-long Quinnipiac River, which runs south through New Haven to Plainville and Southington.

You can’t be here and do fish without coming back to the Q River,” he told the group. 

He was unable, however, to present samples of the fish in question, after an attempt to catch some in a net-like contraption hit a predictable roadblock.

I’m a little pessimistic,” he said as he gathered up the net, because I forgot the most important part of catching fish: bait.”

As the session wound down, Kelly warned that his conclusions may not be the end of the story.

He noted that many researchers have found evidence of endocrine destructors in the river water. And as the city continues to grow, he said, the chemicals flowing into the river could increase in volume.

The chemicals are present, but at this point they don’t appear to be present at a biologically meaningful level,” he added. But I would keep my eye on the ball.”

Land Trust Director Justin Elicker introduces Kelly to gathering.

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