Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
Filter Total Items: 4094
Optimizing surveillance for South American origin influenza A viruses along the United States Gulf Coast through genomic characterization of isolates from blue-winged teal (Anas discors)
Relative to research focused on intercontinental viral exchange between Eurasia and North America, less attention has been directed towards understanding the redistribution of influenza A viruses (IAVs) by wild birds between North America and South America. In this study, we genomically characterized 45 viruses isolated from blue-winged teal (Anas discors) along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast
Authors
Andrew M. Ramey, Patrick Walther, Paul Karl Link, Rebecca L. Poulson, Benjamin R. Wilcox, George M. Newsome, Erica Spackman, J. Brown, David E. Stallknecht
Polyoxyethylene tallow amine, a glyphosate formulation adjuvant: Soil adsorption characteristics, degradation profile, and occurrence on selected soils from agricultural fields in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, and Missouri
Polyoxyethylene tallow amine (POEA) is an inert ingredient added to formulations of glyphosate, the most widely applied agricultural herbicide. POEA has been shown to have toxic effects to some aquatic organisms making the potential transport of POEA from the application site into the environment an important concern. This study characterized the adsorption of POEA to soils and assessed its occurr
Authors
Daniel L. Tush, Michael T. Meyer
Investigating dynamic sources of pharmaceuticals: Demographic and seasonal use are more important than down-the-drain disposal in wastewater effluent in a University City setting
Pharmaceutical pollution in surface waters poses risks to human and ecosystem health. Wastewater treatment facilities are primary sources of pharmaceutical pollutants, but little is known about the factors that affect drugs entering the wastewater stream. This paper investigates the effects of student pharmaceutical use and disposal behaviors and an annual demographic shift on pharmaceutical pollu
Authors
Christine Vatovec, Patrick J. Phillips, Emily Van Wagoner, Tia-Marie Scott, Edward T. Furlong
Bald Eagle nestling mortality associated with Argas radiatus and Argas ricei tick infestation and successful management with nest removal in Arizona, USA
Eight Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nestlings heavily infested with larval ticks were found in or under a nest near the confluence of the Verde and Salt rivers in Arizona in 2009-11. The 8-12-wk-old nestlings were slow to respond to stimuli and exhibited generalized muscle weakness or paresis of the pelvic limbs. Numerous cutaneous and subcutaneous hemorrhages were associated with sites of
Authors
Anne Justice-Allen, Kathy Orr, Krysten L. Schuler, Kyle McCarty, Kenneth Jacobson, Carol U. Meteyer
Effects of flow regime on metal concentrations and the attainment of water quality standards in a remediated stream reach, Butte, Montana
Low-flow synoptic sampling campaigns are often used as the primary tool to characterize watersheds affected by mining. Although such campaigns are an invaluable part of site characterization, investigations which focus solely on low-flow conditions may yield misleading results. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate this point and elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the release of meta
Authors
Robert L. Runkel, Briant A. Kimball, David A. Nimick, Katherine Walton-Day
The removal kinetics of dissolved organic matter and the optical clarity of groundwater
Concentrations of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and ultraviolet/visible light absorbance decrease systematically as groundwater moves through the unsaturated zones overlying aquifers and along flowpaths within aquifers. These changes occur over distances of tens of meters (m) implying rapid removal kinetics of the chromophoric DOM that imparts color to groundwater. A one-compartment input-output
Authors
Francis H. Chapelle, Yuan Shen, Eric W. Strom, Ronald Benner
Organic amendments for risk mitigation of organochlorine pesticide residues in old orchard soils
Performance of compost and biochar amendments for in situ risk mitigation of aged DDT, DDE and dieldrin residues in an old orchard soil was examined. The change in bioavailability of pesticide residues to Lumbricus terrestris L. relative to the unamended control soil was assessed using 4-L soil microcosms with and without plant cover in a 48-day experiment. The use of aged dairy manure compost and
Authors
Tiziana Centofantia, Laura L. McConnell, Rufus L. Chaney, W. Nelson Beyer, Natasha A. Andradea, Cathleen J. Hapeman, Alba Torrents, Anh Nguyen, Marya O. Anderson, J. M. Novak, Dana Jackson
Identification of groundwater nitrate contamination from explosives used in road construction: Isotopic, chemical, and hydrologic evidence
Explosives used in construction have been implicated as sources of NO3– contamination in groundwater, but direct forensic evidence is limited. Identification of blasting-related NO3– can be complicated by other NO3– sources, including agriculture and wastewater disposal, and by hydrogeologic factors affecting NO3– transport and stability. Here we describe a study that used hydrogeology, chemistry,
Authors
James R. Degnan, John Karl Böhlke, Krystle Pelham, David M. Langlais, Gregory J. Walsh
Water-quality, bed-sediment, and biological data (October 2013 through September 2014) and statistical summaries of data for streams in the Clark Fork Basin, Montana
Water, bed sediment, and biota were sampled in streams from Butte to near Missoula, Montana, as part of a monitoring program in the upper Clark Fork Basin of western Montana. The sampling program was led by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to characterize aquatic resources in the Clark Fork Basin, with emphasis on trace elements associated w
Authors
Kent A. Dodge, Michelle I. Hornberger
Avian influenza ecology in North Atlantic sea ducks: Not all ducks are created equal
Wild waterfowl are primary reservoirs of avian influenza viruses (AIV). However the role of sea ducks in the ecology of avian influenza, and how that role differs from freshwater ducks, has not been examined. We obtained and analyzed sera from North Atlantic sea ducks and determined the seroprevalence in those populations. We also tested swab samples from North Atlantic sea ducks for the presence
Authors
Jeffrey S. Hall, Robin E. Russell, J. Christian Franson, Catherine Soos, Robert J. Dusek, R. Bradford Allen, Sean W. Nashold, Joshua L. Teslaa, Jón Einar Jónsson, Jennifer R. Ballard, Naomi Jnae Harms, Justin D. Brown
Estimating mercury exposure of piscivorous birds and sport fish using prey fish monitoring
Methylmercury is a global pollutant of aquatic ecosystems, and monitoring programs need tools to predict mercury exposure of wildlife. We developed equations to estimate methylmercury exposure of piscivorous birds and sport fish using mercury concentrations in prey fish. We collected original data on western grebes (Aechmophorus occidentalis) and Clark’s grebes (Aechmophorus clarkii) and summarize
Authors
Joshua T. Ackerman, C. Alex Hartman, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Mark P. Herzog, Jay Davis, Gary Ichikawa, Autumn Bonnema
Evidence of estrogenic endocrine disruption in smallmouth and largemouth bass inhabiting Northeast U.S. National Wildlife Refuge waters: A reconnaissance study
Intersex as the manifestation of testicular oocytes (TO) in male gonochoristic fishes has been used as an indicator of estrogenic exposure. Here we evaluated largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) or smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) form 19 National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) in the Northeast U.S. inhabiting waters on or near NWR lands for evidence of estrogenic endocrine disruption. Waterbodi
Authors
Luke R. Iwanowicz, Vicki S. Blazer, A.E. Pinkney, C.P. Guy, A.M. Major, K. Munney, S. Mierzykowski, S. Lingenfelser, A. Secord, K. Patnode, T.J. Kubiak, C. Stern, Cassidy M. Hahn, Deborah D. Iwanowicz, Heather L. Walsh, Adam J. Sperry