Publications

Understanding relationships between cationic metals such as cadmium, copper, nickel, lead and zinc, and amorphous iron sulfides, measured as acid volatile sulfide (AVS), is key to predicting metal bioavailability and toxicity insediments. The objective of the present study was to assess seasonal and spatial variations of AVS in freshwater sediments contaminated with zinc. Sediments were...

Eggs from four aquatic bird species nesting in the Lower Laguna Madre, Texas, were collected to determine differences and similarities in the accumulation of congener-specific polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and to evaluate PCB impacts on reproduction. Because of the different toxicities of PCB congeners, it is important to know which congeners contribute most to total PCBs. The...

Twenty-three dead and dying Brazilian free-tailed bats from roosts in downtown Mineral Wells, Palo Pinto County, Texas, were tested for rabies and for anticholinesterase (antiChE) effects of or- ganophosphorus (OP) and carbamate pesticides. Seventeen of the 23 bats tested positive for rabies. The cause of death or dying in five of the nonrabid bats is unknown; however, one of the six...

The objective of this study was to determine whether sediment ingestion or water ventilation was the primary route of uptake for benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) in the gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum), a detritivorous fish. Two experiments were conducted in which fish were exposed to sediments spiked with 1 μg/g BaP. In the first experiment, fish were prevented from feeding by esophagus ligation...

Relative concentrations of aqueous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were investigated in an urban creek. Samples were obtained at five sites within a 600-m segment of the creek that is critical habitat for an endangered species of fish. the sampling technique entailed immersion of semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) in the water for intervals as long as 64 d. SPMDs are passive...

We describe a lightweight, portable vacuum hand pump apparatus for use in collecting water samples from horizontal intragravel pipe samplers buried in the stream bottom. The apparatus is easily fabricated from relatively inexpensive materials available at many laboratory supply houses.

No abstract available.

As part of a multidisciplinary program to assess the potential long-term impacts of offshore oil and gas exploration and production activities in the Gulf of Mexico, sediment chemical analyses and porewater toxicity tests were conducted in the vicinity of five offshore platforms. Based on data from sea urchin fertilization and embryological development assays, toxicity was observed near...

Two life stages of three federally-listed endangered fishes, Colorado squawfish (Ptychocheilus lucius), bonytail (Gila elegans), and razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) were exposed to copper, selenate, selenite, and zinc individually, and to mixtures of nine inorganics in a reconstituted water that simulated the water quality of the middle Green River, Utah. The mixtures simulated...

Standard 10-d whole-sediment toxicity test methods have recently been developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the amphipod Hyalella azteca and the midge Chironomus tentans. An interlaboratory evaluation of method precision was performed using a group of seven to 10 laboratories, representing government, academia, and environmental consulting firms. The test...

The herbicide Brominal® was applied at the recommended rate to one plot in each of three paired 0.6-ha plots; the other three plots were used as controls. Plots were sprayed once in the fall of 1988 and 1989 and twice in the spring of 1990 and 1991. Small mammals were trapped three times during each activity season (April-October) to obtain population estimates before and after spraying...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) organized a research program to assess the extent of and possible methods for managing contaminated sediments. As part of this program, we developed a method by which multiple forms of information on sediment contamination (i.e., chemistry, laboratory toxicity, and benthic community composition) could be combined to rank the relative...