Publications
Dive into our publications and explore the science from the Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology).
Filter Total Items: 4094
Changing migratory patterns in the Jackson elk herd
Migratory behavior in ungulates has declined globally and understanding the causative factors (environmental change vs. human mediated) is needed to formulate effective management strategies. In the Jackson elk herd of northwest Wyoming, demographic differences between summer elk (Cervus elaphus) population segments have led to changes in migratory patterns over a 35-year time period. The proporti
Authors
Eric Cole, Aaron M. Foley, Jeffrey M. Warren, Bruce L. Smith, Sarah Dewey, Douglas G. Brimeyer, W. Sue Fairbanks, Hall Sawyer, Paul C. Cross
Estimating the phenology of elk brucellosis transmission with hierarchical models of cause-specific and baseline hazards
Understanding the seasonal timing of disease transmission can lead to more effective control strategies, but the seasonality of transmission is often unknown for pathogens transmitted directly. We inserted vaginal implant transmitters (VITs) in 575 elk (Cervus elaphus canadensis) from 2006 to 2014 to assess when reproductive failures (i.e., abortions or still births) occur, which is the primary tr
Authors
Paul C. Cross, Eric Maichak, Jared D. Rogerson, Kathryn M. Irvine, Jennifer D. Jones, Dennis M. Heisey, William H. Edwards, Brandon M. Scurlock
Multimodel analysis of anisotropic diffusive tracer-gas transport in a deep arid unsaturated zone
Gas transport in the unsaturated zone affects contaminant flux and remediation, interpretation of groundwater travel times from atmospheric tracers, and mass budgets of environmentally important gases. Although unsaturated zone transport of gases is commonly treated as dominated by diffusion, the characteristics of transport in deep layered sediments remain uncertain. In this study, we use a multi
Authors
Christopher T. Green, Michelle Ann Walvoord, Brian J. Andraski, Robert G. Striegl, David A. Stonestrom
Optimizing fish sampling for fish - mercury bioaccumulation factors
Fish Bioaccumulation Factors (BAFs; ratios of mercury (Hg) in fish (Hgfish) and water (Hgwater)) are used to develop Total Maximum Daily Load and water quality criteria for Hg-impaired waters. Both applications require representative Hgfish estimates and, thus, are sensitive to sampling and data-treatment methods. Data collected by fixed protocol from 11 streams in 5 states distributed across the
Authors
Barbara C. Scudder Eikenberry, Karen Riva-Murray, Christopher D. Knightes, Celeste A. Journey, Lia C. Chasar, Mark E. Brigham, Paul M. Bradley
Influences of supplemental feeding on winter elk calf:cow ratios in the southern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Several elk herds in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem are fed during winter to alleviate interactions with livestock, reduce damage to stored crops, and to manage for high elk numbers. The effects of supplemental feeding on ungulate population dynamics has rarely been examined, despite the fact that supplemental feeding is partially justified as necessary for maintaining or enhancing population g
Authors
Aaron M. Foley, Paul C. Cross, David A Christianson, Brandon M. Scurlock, Scott Creely
Influence of a chlor-alkali superfund site on mercury bioaccumulation in periphyton and low-trophic level fauna
In Berlin, New Hampshire, USA, the Androscoggin River flows adjacent to a former chlor-alkali facility that is a US Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site and source of mercury (Hg) to the river. The present study was conducted to determine the fate and bioaccumulation of methylmercury (MeHg) to lower trophic-level taxa in the river. Surface sediment directly adjacent to the source showed
Authors
Kate L. Buckman, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Vivien F. Taylor, Ann T. Chalmers, Hannah J. Broadley, Jennifer L. Agee, Brian P. Jackson, Celia Y. Chen
Imaging pathways in fractured rock using three-dimensional electrical resistivity tomography
Major challenges exist in delineating bedrock fracture zones because these cause abrupt changes in geological and hydrogeological properties over small distances. Borehole observations cannot sufficiently capture heterogeneity in these systems. Geophysical techniques offer the potential to image properties and processes in between boreholes. We used three-dimensional cross borehole electrical resi
Authors
Judith Robinson, Lee Slater, Timothy B. Johnson, Allen M. Shapiro, Claire R. Tiedeman, Dimitrios Ntlargiannis, Carole D. Johnson, Frederick D. Day-Lewis, Pierre Lacombe, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, John W. Lane
Formation of mercury sulfide from Hg(II)−thiolate complexes in natural organic matter
Methylmercury is the environmental form of neurotoxic mercury that is biomagnified in the food chain. Methylation rates are reduced when the metal is sequestered in crystalline mercury sulfides or bound to thiol groups in macromolecular natural organic matter. Mercury sulfide minerals are known to nucleate in anoxic zones, by reaction of the thiol-bound mercury with biogenic sulfide, but not in ox
Authors
Alain Manceau, Cyprien Lemouchi, Mironel Enescu, Anne-Claire Gaillot, Martine Lanson, Valerie Magnin, Pieter Glatzel, Brett Poulin, Joseph N. Ryan, George R. Aiken, Isabelle Gautier-Lunea, Kathryn L. Nagy
Evaluating hair as a predictor of blood mercury: the influence of ontogenetic phase and life history in pinnipeds
Mercury (Hg) biomonitoring of pinnipeds increasingly utilizes nonlethally collected tissues such as hair and blood. The relationship between total Hg concentrations ([THg]) in these tissues is not well understood for marine mammals, but it can be important for interpretation of tissue concentrations with respect to ecotoxicology and biomonitoring. We examined [THg] in blood and hair in multiple ag
Authors
Sarah H. Peterson, Elizabeth A. McHuron, Stephanie N. Kennedy, Joshua T. Ackerman, Lorrie D. Rea, J. Margaret Castellini, Todd M. O'Hara, Daniel P. Costa
Social living mitigates the costs of a chronic illness in a cooperative carnivore
Infection risk is assumed to increase with social group size, and thus be a cost of group living. We assess infection risk and costs with respect to group size using data from an epidemic of sarcoptic mange (Sarcoptes scabiei) among grey wolves (Canis lupus). We demonstrate that group size does not predict infection risk and that individual costs of infection, in terms of reduced survival, can be
Authors
Emily S. Almberg, Paul C. Cross, Andrew P. Dobson, Douglas W. Smith, Matthew C Metz, Daniel R. Stahler, Peter J. Hudson
Marine foraging ecology influences mercury bioaccumulation in deep-diving northern elephant seals
Mercury contamination of oceans is prevalent worldwide and methylmercury concentrations in the mesopelagic zone (200–1000 m) are increasing more rapidly than in surface waters. Yet mercury bioaccumulation in mesopelagic predators has been understudied. Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) biannually travel thousands of kilometres to forage within coastal and open-ocean regions of the
Authors
Sarah H. Peterson, Joshua T. Ackerman, Daniel P. Costa
Organic contaminant transport and fate in the subsurface: evolution of knowledge and understanding
Toxic organic contaminants may enter the subsurface as slightly soluble and volatile nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) or as dissolved solutes resulting in contaminant plumes emanating from the source zone. A large body of research published in Water Resources Research has been devoted to characterizing and understanding processes controlling the transport and fate of these organic contaminants and
Authors
Hedeff I. Essaid, Barbara A. Bekins, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli