Publications
Since 1966, CERC scientists have published over 2000 peer reviewed articles and reports. Browse our publications below or search CERC's publications by author or title through the USGS Publications Warehouse.
If you need assistance in locating a specific CERC publication, please contact the CERC Librarian.
Filter Total Items: 1407
Metamorphosis and the impact of contaminants on ecological subsidies
Animals with complex life histories such as aquatic insects and amphibians link freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems when they transition from water to land during development. This transition requires metamorphosis from juvenile to adult life stages. Metamorphosis is a stressful and ecologically sensitive life history event. Exposure to contaminants during juvenile development (before or during
Authors
Jeff Wesner, Johanna M. Kraus, Brianna L. Henry, Jacob Kerby
Introduction: Ecological subsidies as a framework for understanding contaminant fate, exposure, and effects at the land-water interface
Ecologists have long recognized that ecological subsidies (the flow of organic matter, nutrients, and organisms between ecosystems) can strongly affect ecosystem processes and community structure in the recipient ecosystem. Animal movements, organic matter flows, and food web dynamics between linked aquatic and terrestrial systems can also influence contaminant fate, exposure, and effects at the l
Authors
David Walters, Johanna M. Kraus, Marc A. Mills
Practical considerations for the incorporation of insect-mediated contaminant flux into ecological risk assessments
Insect-mediated contaminant flux is truly an interdisciplinary concept that merges ideas from many technical areas of science (e.g., environmental chemistry, landscape ecology, and entomology). This chapter introduces risk assessors to this emerging and ecologically relevant concept by distilling the main mechanisms that drive insect-mediated contaminant flux and integrating them together so that
Authors
Ryan R. Otter, Gale B. Beaubien, Connor I. Olson, David Walters, Marc A. Mills
Synthesis: A framework for predicting the dark side of ecological subsidies
In this chapter, we synthesize the state of the science regarding ecological subsidies and contaminants at the land-water interface and suggest research and management approaches for linked freshwater-terrestrial ecosystems. Specifically, we focus on movements of animals with complex life histories and the detrital inputs associated with animal and plant matter delivered to freshwaters. We present
Authors
Johanna M. Kraus, Jeff Wessner, David Walters
Cross-ecosystem linkages and trace metals at the land-water interface
At low concentrations, trace metals are critical for sustaining life on Earth. However, at high concentrations, they become a global contaminant with particularly strong effects on freshwater communities. These effects can propagate to terrestrial ecosystems in part by altering production and community structure of adult aquatic insect emergence and aquatic insect-mediated metal fluxes to terrestr
Authors
Johanna M. Kraus, Justin F. Pomeranz
Effects of early life stage exposure of largemouth bass to atrazine or a model estrogen (17α-ethinylestradiol)
Endocrine disrupting contaminants are of continuing concern for potentially contributing to reproductive dysfunction in largemouth and smallmouth bass in the Chesapeake Bay watershed (CBW) and elsewhere. Exposures to atrazine (ATR) have been hypothesized to have estrogenic effects on vertebrate endocrine systems. The incidence of intersex in male smallmouth bass from some regions of CBW has been c
Authors
Jessica Kristin Leet, Catherine A. Richter, Robert S. Cornman, Jason P. Berninger, Ramji K. Bhandari, Diane K. Nicks, James L. Zajicek, Vicki S. Blazer, Donald E. Tillitt
Neonicotinoid insecticide concentrations in agricultural wetlands and associations with aquatic invertebrate communities
Neonicotinoids are considered a superior insecticide for agricultural pest management, although their impacts on non-target insects is a rising concern. Aside from laboratory and mesocosm studies, limited research has been directed towards the role neonicotinoids may have in structuring aquatic invertebrate communities in field settings. Therefore, we simultaneously collected aquatic invertebrate
Authors
T.J. Schepker, Elisabeth B. Webb, Donald E. Tillitt, T. LaGrange
Bisphenol A and 17α-ethinylestradiol-induced transgenerational gene expression differences in the brain–pituitary–testis axis of medaka, Oryzias latipes
Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), such as bisphenol A (BPA) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), can have far reaching health effects, including transgenerational abnormalities in offspring that never directly contacted either chemical. We previously reported reduced fertilization rates and embryo survival at F2 and F3 generations caused by 7-day embryonic exposure (F0) to 100 μg/L BPA or 0.05 μg/
Authors
Albert J. Thayil, Xuegeng Wang, Pooja Bhandari, Frederick S. vom Saal, Donald E. Tillitt, Ramji K. Bhandari
Endocrine disrupting activities and geochemistry of water resources associated with unconventional oil and gas activity
The rise of hydraulic fracturing and unconventional oil and gas (UOG) exploration in the United States has increased public concerns for water contamination induced from hydraulic fracturing fluids and associated wastewater spills. Herein, we collected surface and groundwater samples across Garfield County, Colorado, a drilling-dense region, and measured endocrine bioactivities, geochemical tracer
Authors
Christopher D. Kassotis, Jennifer S. Harkness, Phuc H. Vo, Danh C. Vu, Kate Hoffman, Katelyn M. Cinnamon, Jennifer N. Cornelius-Green, Avner Vengosh, Chung-Ho Lin, Donald E. Tillitt, Robin L. Kruse, Jane A. McElroy, Susan C. Nagel
Assessing the ecological risks of per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances: Current state‐of‐the science and a proposed path forward
Per‐ and poly‐fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) encompass a large, heterogenous group of chemicals of potential concern to human health and the environment. Based on information for a few relatively well‐understood PFAS such as perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoate, there is ample basis to suspect that at least a subset can be considered persistent, bioaccumulative, and/or toxic. However, d
Authors
Gerald T. Ankley, Philippa Cureton, Robert A. Hoke, Magali Houde, Anupama Kumar, Jessy Kurias, Roman P. Lanno, Chris McCarthy, John L. Newsted, Christopher J. Salice, Bradley E. Sample, Maria S. Sepúlveda, Jeffery Steevens, Sara Valsecchi
Use of environmental DNA to detect grass carp spawning events
The timing and location of spawning events are important data for managers seeking to control invasive grass carp populations. Ichthyoplankton tows for grass carp eggs and larvae can be used to detect spawning events; however, these samples can be highly debris-laden, and are expensive and laborious to process. An alternative method, environmental DNA (eDNA) technology, has proven effective in det
Authors
Cari-Ann Hayer, Michael F. Bayless, Amy E. George, Nathan Thompson, Catherine A. Richter, Duane Chapman
Acute and chronic toxicity of nickel and zinc to a laboratory cultured mayfly (Neocloeon triangulifer) in aqueous but fed exposures
Aquatic insects are poorly represented in water quality criteria, and previous studies have suggested a lack of sensitivity in acute toxicity tests despite observational studies demonstrating the contrary. Our objectives were to determine the toxicity of nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn) to the mayfly Neocloeon triangulifer in fed acute (96-h) and chronic exposures to estimate aqueous effect concentration
Authors
David J. Soucek, Amy Dickinson, Christan E. Schlekat, Eric Van Genderen, Edward J. Hammer