Olivia Hebert co-authors article in 'Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology'

Olivia Hebert ('13), a medical biology major, co-authored an article with.Teresa Dzieweczynski, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Psychology, that was published in the most recent issue of the peer-reviewed journal Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. The article is titled, "The effects of short-term exposure to an endocrine disrupter on behavioral consistency in juvenile and adult male Siamese fighting fish."

The research examined the effects of the estrogen mimic, ethinyl-estradiol (EE2) on decision-making behavior when males encounter models of male and female conspecifics simultaneously. EE2 affected both overall level of response to both models as well as individual consistency of response. Most importantly, juveniles and adults were differentially impacted, with juveniles experiencing more severe effects of short-term exposure.

This study stresses the importance of examining endocrine disrupter exposure on multiple time scales and at different life span points and suggests that individuals may vary in their sensitivity to exposure.

The article is based on research that Hebert conducted while on a College of Arts and Sciences summer undergraduate research fellowship. It is her fourth publication.