Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

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

Ecological impacts of lead mining on Ozark streams: Toxicity of sediment and pore water

We studied the toxicity of sediments downstream of lead-zinc mining areas in southeast Missouri, using chronic sediment toxicity tests with the amphipod, Hyalella azteca, and pore-water toxicity tests with the daphnid, Ceriodaphnia dubia. Tests conducted in 2002 documented reduced survival of amphipods in stream sediments collected near mining areas and reduced survival and reproduction of daphnid
Authors
J.M. Besser, W. G. Brumbaugh, A.L. Allert, B.C. Poulton, C. J. Schmitt, C.G. Ingersoll

Potential effects of environmental contaminants on P450 aromatase activity and DNA damage in swallows from the Rio Grande and Somerville, Texas

Cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and cave swallows (P. fulva) were sampled during the breeding season at several locations in the Rio Grande, Texas, to evaluate the potential effects of environmental contaminants on P450 aromatase activity in brain and gonads and DNA damage in blood cells. The tritiated water-release aromatase assay was used to measure aromatase activity and flow cytometr
Authors
M.A. Sitzlar, M.A. Mora, J.G.W. Fleming, F.W. Bazer, J. W. Bickham, C. W. Matson

Dreissenid mussels from the Great Lakes contain elevated thiaminase activity

We examined thiaminase activity in dreissenid mussels collected at different depths and seasons, and from various locations in Lakes Michigan, Ontario, and Huron. Here we present evidence that two dreissenid mussel species (Dreissena bugensis and D. polymorpha) contain thiaminase activity that is 5-100 fold greater than observed in Great Lakes fishes. Thiaminase activity in zebra mussels ranged fr
Authors
D. E. Tillitt, S.C. Riley, A.N. Evans, S. J. Nichols, J.L. Zajicek, J. Rinchard, C.A. Richter, C.C. Krueger

Sex assignment of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fluvescens) based on plasma sex hormone and vitellogenin levels

This study focused on identifying the sex of lake sturgeon by measuring the sex hormones estradiol and testosterone, and the phosphoprotein vitellogenin (Vtg) in blood plasma by radioimmunoassay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively, and evaluating these techniques as tools in lake sturgeon population management. Surveys of the St Clair River (SCR) lake sturgeon population have chara
Authors
J.M. Craig, D. M. Papoulias, M.V. Thomas, M.L. Annis, J. Boase

Reproductive health of bass in the potomac, USA, drainage: Part 1. exploring the effects of proximity to wastewater treatment plant discharge

Intersex (specifically, testicular oocytes) has been observed in male smallmouth bass (SMB; Micropterus dolomieu) and other centrarchids in the South Branch of the Potomac River, USA, and forks of the Shenandoah River, USA, during the past five years. This condition often is associated with exposure to estrogenic endocrine‐disrupting chemicals in some fish species, but such chemicals and their sou
Authors
L. R. Iwanowicz, V. S. Blazer, C.P. Guy, A.E. Pinkney, J.E. Mullcan, D.A. Alvarezw

Trout density and health in a stream with variable water temperatures and trace element concentrations: does a cold-water source attract trout to increased metal exposure?

A history of hard-rock mining has resulted in elevated concentrations of heavy metals in Prickly Pear Creek (MT. USA). Remediation has improved water quality; however, dissolved zinc and cadmium concentrations still exceed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency water-quality criteria. Physical habitat, salmonid density, fish health, and water quality were assessed, and metal concentrations in fish t
Authors
D.D. Harper, A.M. Farag, C. Hogstr, Elizabeth MacConnell

Reproductive health of bass in the potomac, USA, drainage: Part 2. Seasonal occurrence of persistent and emerging organic contaminants

The seasonal occurrence of organic contaminants, many of which are potential endocrine disruptors, entering the Potomac River, USA, watershed was investigated using a two-pronged approach during the fall of 2005 and spring of 2006. Passive samplers (semipermeable membrane device and polar organic chemical integrative sampler [POCIS]) were deployed in tandem at sites above and below wastewater trea
Authors
D.A. Alvarez, W.L. Cranor, S.D. Perkins, V.L. Schroeder, L. R. Iwanowicz, R.C. Clark, C.P. Guy, A.E. Pinkney, V. S. Blazer, J.E. Mullican

The genomic transcriptional response of female fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) to an acute exposure to the androgen, 17β-trenbolone

We investigated the genomic transcriptional response of female fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) to an acute (4 days) exposure to 0.1 or 1.0 ??g/L of 17??-trenbolone (TB), the active metabolite of an anabolic androgenic steroid used as a growth promoter in cattle and a contaminant of concern in aquatic systems. Our objectives were to investigate the gene expression profile induced by TB, defin
Authors
Jennifer Dorts, Cathy A. Richter, Maureen K. Wright-Osment, Mark R. Ellersieck, Barbara J. Carter, Donald E. Tillitt

Concentration of elements in whole-body fish, fish fillets, fish muscle plugs, and fish eggs from the 2008 Missouri Department of Conservation General Contaminant Monitoring Program

This report presents the results of a contaminant monitoring survey conducted annually by the Missouri Department of Conservation to examine the levels of selected elemental contaminants in whole-body fish, fish fillets, fish muscle plugs, and fish eggs. Whole-body, fillet, or egg samples of catfish (Ictalurus punctatus, Ictalurus furcatus, Pylodictis olivaris), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoi
Authors
Thomas W. May, Michael J. Walther, William G. Brumbaugh, Michael J. McKee

Effect of water hardness and dissolved-solid concentration on hatching success and egg size in bighead carp

Bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis is an Asian species that has been introduced to the United States and is regarded as a highly undesirable invader. Soft water has been said to cause the bursting of Asian carp eggs and thus has been suggested as a factor that would limit the spread of this species. To evaluate this, we subjected fertilized eggs of bighead carp to waters with a wide range of
Authors
Duane Chapman, Joseph E. Deters

Avian toxicity testing

No abstract available.
Authors
Michael J. Hooper

Hydraulic and substrate maps of reaches used by sturgeon (Genus Scaphirhynchus) in the Lower Missouri River, 2005-07

This report is a repository of reach-scale maps of hydraulic and substrate characteristics generated for the habitat-use portion of an interdisciplinary sturgeon research project on the Lower Missouri River (from Gavins Point Dam to the junction with the Mississippi River). The maps were derived from hydroacoustic data sets that were collected for the purpose of assessing physical aquatic habitat
Authors
Joanna M. Reuter, Robert B. Jacobson, Caroline M. Elliott, Harold E. Johnson, Aaron J. DeLonay