REVIEW article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Toxicology, Pollution and the Environment
Drivers and potential effects of endocrine disruption in wild mammals: Known facts and open questions
Provisionally accepted
- Univerza v Ljubljani Veterinarska fakulteta, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Endocrine disruption has become a critical ecological problem, with environmental pollutants such as pesticides, industrial chemicals, and pharmaceutical residues playing crucial roles in altering endocrine regulation and disrupting key physiological processes. This overview addresses the mechanisms of endocrine disruption, focusing on how endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) interfere with hormone synthesis, receptor binding, and cellular signalling pathways, ultimately impacting animal reproductive function, development, and metabolism and thus affecting individuals, populations and ecosystems. We summarize the current state of knowledge on endocrine disruption and propose new research topics to clarify the effects of various substances with endocrine activity on organisms. Inter-species differences in sensitivity to EDCs, differences in receptor structure between species, observational studies on developmental disorders, effects of mixtures of EDCs, studies on epigenetic and transgenerational effects, and interactions between EDCs and other environmental stressors are presented as important topics for further research. Finally, we emphasize the need for collective action to protect biodiversity by curbing environmental pollution with EDCs.
Keywords: ecosystems, endocrine disruption, Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, metabolic disorders, Reproductive disorders, Wild mammals
Received: 05 Dec 2025; Accepted: 02 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Karaer and Snoj. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Tomaž Snoj
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.