ABSTRACT:In response to mounting concerns about the endocrine-disrupting influence of environmental chemicals on human health, this epidemiological study was initiated to test the hypothesis that nonoccupational exposure to the estrogenic pesticide 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(chlorodiphenyl)ethane (DDT) affects male reproductive parameters. One hundred and sixteen men aged 27 years (SD ϭ 8.2) living in malaria endemic-areas in Chiapas (Mexico), where DDT was sprayed until 2000, participated in a cross-sectional study. Semen analyses were conducted according to World Health Organization methods and a quality control program was followed. DDT exposure was defined as the level of blood plasma p,pЈ-dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene (DDE), the major metabolite of DDT. The p,pЈ-DDE concentration adjusted for total lipids was 100 times higher than that reported for nonexposed populations at 45 plus or minus 32 g/g (mean Ϯ SD). Crude regression analysis showed that several sperm motion parameters, including the percentage of motile sperm, decreased with higher p,pЈ-DDE concentrations (␤ ϭ Ϫ8.38; P ϭ .05 for squared motility), and the percentage of sperm with morphological tail defects increased with higher plasma p,pЈ-DDE concentration (␤ ϭ 0.003; P ϭ .017). Insufficient sperm chromatin condensation was observed in 46.6% of participants, and the most severe category of incomplete DNA condensation was also positively correlated with p,pЈ-DDE concentration (r ϭ .223; P ϭ .044). Therefore, nonoccupational exposure to DDT, as assessed by plasma p,pЈ-DDE concentrations, is associated with poorer semen parameters in men, indicating adverse effects on testicular function and/or the regulation of reproductive hormones. Previously, a causal role of environmental toxicants in human male infertility has been lacking because observed effects have been the result of unusually high exposures, either occupationally or as a result of industrial accidents, resulting in unprecedented controversy (reviewed by Cheek & McLachlan, Environmental hormones and the male reproductive system. J Androl. 1998;19:5). This is the first epidemiological study demonstrating effects after nonoccupational exposures to DDT. Based on these findings, the effect of DDT on male reproductive health should not be ignored.

The present work provides an assessment of sperm measures (concentration, motility, viability, etc.) of three black-handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) during the rainy and dry seasons in Mexico City, as well as an evaluation of the between-subjects variability of sperm quality. Twenty samples obtained by rectal electroejaculation and digested with trypsin were evaluated. The results showed that during the dry season (n = 9) the semen samples were of better quality than those obtained during the rainy season (n = 11). The individual animals showed differences in sperm concentration, although there were no differences in sperm quality.

The reproductive behaviors of individual pairs of Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)-all combinations of three populations and three different ages-were observed in glass jars in the laboratory on Acer saccharum Marshall (Sapindales: Sapindaceae) host material. The virgin female occasionally made first contact, but mounting did not occur until the male antennated or palpated the female. If the female was receptive (older females initially less receptive than younger ones), the male mated with her immediately after mounting and initiated a prolonged pair-bond. When the female was not receptive, some males abandoned the attempt while most performed a short antennal wagging behavior. During the pair-bond, the male continuously grasped the female's elytral margins with his prothoracic tarsi or both pro- and mesothoracic tarsi. The male copulated in a series of three to four bouts (averaging three to five copulations each) during which the female chewed oviposition sites or walked on the host. Between bouts, the female oviposited and fertile eggs were deposited as soon as 43 min after the first copulation. Females became unreceptive again after copulation and the duration of the pair-bond depended on the male's ability to remain mounted. Some population differences were seen which may be climatic adaptations. A single pair-bond was sufficient for the female to achieve ~60% fertility for her lifetime, but female fecundity declined with age at mating. Under eradication conditions, mates will become more difficult to find and females that find mates will likely produce fewer progeny because they will be older at the time of mating.

Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) is an introduced invasive pest with the potential to devastate hardwood forests in North America. Using artificial pupal chambers, we documented the time required by teneral adults at three temperatures (20, 25, and 30 °C), 60-80% RH, and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L:D) h to initiate boring after eclosion and subsequently bore completely through a 7-mm (range, 3-11 mm) layer of Norway maple wood (Acer platanoides L.). In total, 218 laboratory-reared pupae from the Chicago, IL, or Inner Mongolia, China, populations were used in the study. Females (1.54 ± 0.03 g) weighed significantly more than males (1.12 ± 0.03 g), but the average weights of the beetles emerging in each temperature did not differ. Adult weight was positively correlated with exit hole diameter (diameter [mm] = 2.2 * weight [g] + 7.9). The rate at which beetles bored through the wood (136, 178, and 168 mm(3)/d at 20, 25 and 30 °C, respectively) significantly differed between temperatures but did not differ with beetle weight. Temperature had a significant effect on the time it took adults to initiate boring (7, 5, and 4 d at 20, 25, and 30 °C, respectively) and subsequently to complete boring to emerge (5, 4, and 4 d at 20, 25, and 30 °C, respectively). This suggests that beetles require more than a week to progress from eclosion to emergence in wood, even at summer temperatures. This information on A. glabripennis basic biology is critical for developing phenology models that are used to time exclusion and eradication methodologies.

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