Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
Filter Total Items: 4094
Integrated assessment of wastewater treatment plant effluent estrogenicity in the Upper Murray River, Australia, using the native Murray rainbowfish (Melanotaenia fluviatilis)
The contamination of major continental river systems by endocrine-active chemicals (EACs) derived from the discharge of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents can affect human and ecosystem health. As part of a long-term effort to develop a native fish model organism for assessment of endocrine disruption in Australia's largest watershed, the Murray-Darling River Basin, the present study eval
Authors
Alan M. Vajda, Anupama Kumar, Marianne Woods, Mike Williams, Hai Doan, Peter Tolsher, Rai S. Kookana, Larry B. Barber
Differentiating sex and species of Western Grebes (Aechmophorus occidentalis) and Clark's Grebes (Aechmophorus clarkii) and their eggs using external morphometrics and discriminant function analysis
In birds where males and females are similar in size and plumage, sex determination by alternative means is necessary. Discriminant function analysis based on external morphometrics was used to distinguish males from females in two closely related species: Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) and Clark's Grebe (A. clarkii). Additionally, discriminant function analysis was used to evaluate mor
Authors
C. Alex Hartman, Joshua T. Ackerman, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Mark P. Herzog
Municipal solid waste landfills harbor distinct microbiomes
Landfills are the final repository for most of the discarded material from human society and its “built environments.” Microorganisms subsequently degrade this discarded material in the landfill, releasing gases (largely CH4 and CO2) and a complex mixture of soluble chemical compounds in leachate. Characterization of “landfill microbiomes” and their comparison across several landfills should allow
Authors
Blake W. Stamps, Christopher N. Lyles, Joseph M. Suflita, Jason R. Masoner, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Dana W. Kolpin, Bradley S. Stevenson
Young of the year bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) as a bioindicator of estuarine health: Establishing a new baseline for persistent organic pollutants after Hurricane Sandy for selected estuaries in New Jersey and New York
Atlantic coastal bays of the US are essential habitat for young of year bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix). Their residence in these estuaries during critical life stages, high lipid content, and piscivory make bluefish an ideal bioindicator species for evaluating estuarine health. Individual whole fish from four estuaries impacted by Hurricane Sandy were collected in August 2013, analyzed for a suite
Authors
Kelly L. Smalling, Ashok D. Deshpande, Vicki S. Blazer, Bruce W Dockum, DeMond Timmons, Beth L. Sharack, Ronald J. Baker, Jennifer Samson, Timothy J. Reilly
Trophic magnification of organic chemicals: A global synthesis
Production of organic chemicals (OCs) is increasing exponentially, and some OCs biomagnify through food webs to potentially toxic levels. Biomagnification under field conditions is best described by trophic magnification factors (TMFs; per trophic level change in log-concentration of a chemical) which have been measured for more than two decades. Syntheses of TMF behavior relative to chemical trai
Authors
David Walters, T.D. Jardine, Brian S. Cade, K.A. Kidd, D.C.G. Muir, Peter C. Leipzig-Scott
Crude oil metabolites in groundwater at two spill sites
Two groundwater plumes in north central Minnesota with residual crude oil sources have 20 to 50 mg/L of nonvolatile dissolved organic carbon (NVDOC). These values are over 10 times higher than benzene and two to three times higher than Diesel Range Organics in the same wells. On the basis of previous work, most of the NVDOC consists of partial transformation products from the crude oil. Monitoring
Authors
Barbara A. Bekins, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Melinda L. Erickson, Ross Steenson, Kevin A. Thorn
Hydrologic indicators of hot spots and hot moments of mercury methylation potential along river corridors
The biogeochemical cycling of metals and other contaminants in river-floodplain corridors is controlled by microbial activity responding to dynamic redox conditions. Riverine flooding thus has the potential to affect speciation of redox-sensitive metals such as mercury (Hg). Therefore, inundation history over a period of decades potentially holds information on past production of bioavailable Hg.
Authors
Michael B. Singer, Lee R. Harrison, Patrick M. Donovan, Joel D. Blum, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale
Hydrologic controls on nitrogen cycling processes and functional gene abundance in sediments of a groundwater flow-through lake
The fate and transport of inorganic nitrogen (N) is a critically important issue for human and aquatic ecosystem health because discharging N-contaminated groundwater can foul drinking water and cause algal blooms. Factors controlling N-processing were examined in sediments at three sites with contrasting hydrologic regimes at a lake on Cape Cod, MA. These factors included water chemistry, seepage
Authors
Deborah L. Stoliker, Deborah A. Repert, Richard L. Smith, Bongkeun Song, Denis R. LeBlanc, Timothy D. McCobb, Christopher Conaway, Sung Pil Hyun, Dong-Chan Koh, Hee Sun Moon, Douglas B. Kent
Quantifying fish swimming behavior in response to acute exposure of aqueous copper using computer assisted video and digital image analysis
Behavioral responses of aquatic organisms to environmental contaminants can be precursors of other effects such as survival, growth, or reproduction. However, these responses may be subtle, and measurement can be challenging. Using juvenile white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) with copper exposures, this paper illustrates techniques used for quantifying behavioral responses using computer assi
Authors
Robin Calfee, Holly J. Puglis, Edward E. Little, William G. Brumbaugh, Christopher A. Mebane
Effect of wastewater treatment facility closure on endocrine disrupting chemicals in a Coastal Plain stream
Wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) closures are rare environmental remediation events; offering unique insight into contaminant persistence, long-term wastewater impacts, and ecosystem recovery processes. The U.S. Geological Survey assessed the fate of select endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) in surface water and streambed sediment one year before and one year after closure of a long-term WWT
Authors
Paul M. Bradley, Celeste A. Journey, Jimmy M. Clark
Development and application of freshwater sediment-toxicity benchmarks for currently used pesticides
Sediment-toxicity benchmarks are needed to interpret the biological significance of currently used pesticides detected in whole sediments. Two types of freshwater sediment benchmarks for pesticides were developed using spiked-sediment bioassay (SSB) data from the literature. These benchmarks can be used to interpret sediment-toxicity data or to assess the potential toxicity of pesticides in whole
Authors
Lisa H. Nowell, Julia E. Norman, Christopher G. Ingersoll, Patrick W. Moran
It’s what’s inside that counts: Egg contaminant concentrations are influenced by estimates of egg density, egg volume, and fresh egg mass
In egg contaminant studies, it is necessary to calculate egg contaminant concentrations on a fresh wet weight basis and this requires accurate estimates of egg density and egg volume. We show that the inclusion or exclusion of the eggshell can influence egg contaminant concentrations, and we provide estimates of egg density (both with and without the eggshell) and egg-shape coefficients (used to e
Authors
Mark P. Herzog, Joshua T. Ackerman, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, C. Alex Hartman