Ecologically-Driven Exposure Pathways Science Team Active
The Team Determines Factors That Influence Fish and Wildlife Exposure
to toxicants such as mercury in the environment
Scientists Can Sample Tissues and Blood in Small Birds Without Harm
to understand factors such as maternal transfer of contaminants to offspring
The Team Studies Factors that Influence Exposure Risk in Mammals
such as foraging and fasting behavior in elephant seals
Factors that Influence Pathogen Transmission are Identified
Advanced Techniques are used to Understand Contaminant Sources
The Ecologically-Driven Exposure Pathways Integrated Science Team identifies how ecological pathways and physiological processes within a single organism can alter exposure and toxicity of contaminants and pathogens and seek to understand outcomes at different scales from individuals to populations and ecosystems.
Contaminant and pathogen exposure alone does not necessarily result in adverse health outcomes in fish, wildlife, or humans. There are numerous pathways and processes that can alter the toxicity of naturally occurring and human-made contaminants in the environment.
The team uses their broad scientific expertise in hydrology, geochemistry, biology, and ecotoxicology to understand the complexities associated with the movement of toxicants and pathogens through the environment and within individual organisms. That information is used to determine how, where, and when exposure occurs and if exposure results in health risks to wildlife and humans.
Current Science Questions and Activities
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What are the various ecological factors, such as habitats and foraging strategies, that influence the pathways of contaminant exposure, health risks to fish and wildlife?
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What are the pathways of antimicrobial resistance in the environment?
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What are the major intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of mercury exposure and risk to humans, fish, and wildlife at a global scale?
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What are the internal physiological determinants such as metababolism, transfer of mercury to offspring, changes in body mass, and molting that influence exposure and health risks in fish and wildlife?
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How do the internal factors differ among species and life stages?
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What are the Influences of landscape alterations, perturbations, and restoration on pathways and movement of contaminants through ecosystems and bioaccumulation into the food web of aquatic biota?
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Do multiple types and chemical mixtures have additive, synergistic, or antagonistic effects that influence the health of fish and wildlife?
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What are the internal and external drivers and regulators of human exposure to mercury?
- What is the risk of pathogen exposure and transmission among wildlife, livestock, and humans?
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What are the key environmental factors that control the viability of avian influenza virus shed by wild birds and what are the key environmental pathways of exposure and transmission of the virus?
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What is the role of soil, water, and vegetation in disease transmission such as Chronic Wasting Disease?
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How do invasive species influence the timing of contaminant uptake and bioaccumulation in fish and wildlife?
USGS science related to this science team’s activities.
The following are the data releases from this science team’s research activities.
Below are publications associated with this science team.
Songbird feathers as indicators of mercury exposure: High variability and low predictive power suggest limitations
Geochemical factors controlling dissolved elemental mercury and methylmercury formation in Alaskan wetlands of varying trophic status
Spatial variation in aquatic invertebrate and riparian songbird mercury exposure across a river-reservoir system with a legacy of mercury contamination
Feather mercury concentrations in North American raptors sampled at migration monitoring stations
Tracking legacy mercury in the Hackensack River Estuary using mercury stable isotopes
Satellite tracking of gulls and genomic characterization of fecal bacteria reveals environmentally mediated acquisition and dispersal of antimicrobial resistant Escherichia coli on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Perfluoroalkyl contaminant exposure in tree swallows nesting at Clarks Marsh, Oscoda, Michigan, USA
Mercury concentrations vary within and among individual bird feathers: A critical evaluation and guidelines for feather use in mercury monitoring programs
Mercury exposure and altered parental nesting behavior in a wild songbird
Biogeochemical and physical processes controlling mercury methylation and bioaccumulation in Lake Powell, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah and Arizona, 2014 and 2015
Modeling elk‐to‐livestock transmission risk to predict hotspots of brucellosis spillover
Patterns of mercury and selenium exposure in Minnesota common loons
- Overview
The Ecologically-Driven Exposure Pathways Integrated Science Team identifies how ecological pathways and physiological processes within a single organism can alter exposure and toxicity of contaminants and pathogens and seek to understand outcomes at different scales from individuals to populations and ecosystems.
Contaminant and pathogen exposure alone does not necessarily result in adverse health outcomes in fish, wildlife, or humans. There are numerous pathways and processes that can alter the toxicity of naturally occurring and human-made contaminants in the environment.
The team uses their broad scientific expertise in hydrology, geochemistry, biology, and ecotoxicology to understand the complexities associated with the movement of toxicants and pathogens through the environment and within individual organisms. That information is used to determine how, where, and when exposure occurs and if exposure results in health risks to wildlife and humans.
Current Science Questions and Activities
-
What are the various ecological factors, such as habitats and foraging strategies, that influence the pathways of contaminant exposure, health risks to fish and wildlife?
-
What are the pathways of antimicrobial resistance in the environment?
-
What are the major intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of mercury exposure and risk to humans, fish, and wildlife at a global scale?
-
What are the internal physiological determinants such as metababolism, transfer of mercury to offspring, changes in body mass, and molting that influence exposure and health risks in fish and wildlife?
-
How do the internal factors differ among species and life stages?
-
What are the Influences of landscape alterations, perturbations, and restoration on pathways and movement of contaminants through ecosystems and bioaccumulation into the food web of aquatic biota?
-
Do multiple types and chemical mixtures have additive, synergistic, or antagonistic effects that influence the health of fish and wildlife?
-
What are the internal and external drivers and regulators of human exposure to mercury?
- What is the risk of pathogen exposure and transmission among wildlife, livestock, and humans?
-
What are the key environmental factors that control the viability of avian influenza virus shed by wild birds and what are the key environmental pathways of exposure and transmission of the virus?
-
What is the role of soil, water, and vegetation in disease transmission such as Chronic Wasting Disease?
-
How do invasive species influence the timing of contaminant uptake and bioaccumulation in fish and wildlife?
-
- Science
USGS science related to this science team’s activities.
Filter Total Items: 25 - Data
The following are the data releases from this science team’s research activities.
Filter Total Items: 38No Result Found - Publications
Below are publications associated with this science team.
Filter Total Items: 135Songbird feathers as indicators of mercury exposure: High variability and low predictive power suggest limitations
Although feathers are commonly used to monitor mercury (Hg) in avian populations, their reliability as a sampling matrix has not been thoroughly assessed for many avian species, including most songbirds (Order Passeriformes). To better understand relationships between total Hg (THg) concentrations in feathers and other tissues for birds in the thrush and sparrow families, we (1) examined variationAuthorsKatherine E. Low, Danielle K. Ramsden, Allyson K. Jackson, Colleen Emery, W. Douglas Robinson, Jim Randolph, Collin A. Eagles-SmithGeochemical factors controlling dissolved elemental mercury and methylmercury formation in Alaskan wetlands of varying trophic status
Transformations of aqueous inorganic divalent mercury (Hg(II)i) to volatile dissolved gaseous mercury (Hg(0)(aq)) and toxic methylmercury (MeHg) governs mercury bioavailability and fate in northern ecosystems. This study quantified concentrations of aqueous mercury species (Hg(II)i, Hg(0)(aq), MeHg) and relevant geochemical constituents in pore waters of eight Alaskan wetlands that differ in trophAuthorsBrett Poulin, Joseph N. Ryan, Michael Tate, David Krabbenhoft, Mark E Hines, Tamar Barkay, Jeffra Schaefer, George R. AikenSpatial variation in aquatic invertebrate and riparian songbird mercury exposure across a river-reservoir system with a legacy of mercury contamination
Mercury (Hg) loading and methylation in aquatic systems causes a variety of deleterious effects for fish and wildlife populations. Relatively little research has focused on Hg movement into riparian food webs and how this is modulated by habitat characteristics. This study characterized differences in Hg exposure in aquatic invertebrates and riparian songbirds across a large portion of the WillameAuthorsAllyson K. Jackson, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Colleen EmeryFeather mercury concentrations in North American raptors sampled at migration monitoring stations
We assessed total mercury (THg) concentrations in breast feathers of diurnal North American raptors collected at migration monitoring stations. For 9 species in the Pacific Flyway, we found species and age influenced feather THg concentrations whereas sex did not. Feather THg concentrations µg/g dry weight (dw) averaged (least-squared mean±standard error) higher for raptors that generally consumeAuthorsRyan Baurbour, Breanna L. Martinico, Joshua T. Ackerman, Mark P. Herzog, Angus C. Hull, Allen M. Fish, Joshua M. HullTracking legacy mercury in the Hackensack River Estuary using mercury stable isotopes
Spatial redistribution of legacy mercury (Hg) contamination in the Hackensack River estuary (New Jersey, USA) was evaluated using mercury stable isotopes. Total Hg varied from 0.06 to 3.8 µg g-1 in sediment from the tidal Hackensack River and from 15 to 154 µg g-1 near historically contaminated sites in upper Berry's Creek, a tributary of the Hackensack River. delta202Hg values for total Hg fromAuthorsJohn R Reinfelder, Sarah E. JanssenSatellite tracking of gulls and genomic characterization of fecal bacteria reveals environmentally mediated acquisition and dispersal of antimicrobial resistant Escherichia coli on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Gulls (Larus spp.) have frequently been reported to carry Escherichia coli exhibiting antimicrobial resistance (AMR E. coli); however, the pathways governing the acquisition and dispersal of such bacteria are not well-described. We equipped 17 landfill-foraging gulls with satellite transmitters and collected gull fecal samples longitudinally from four locations on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska to asAuthorsChristina Ahlstrom, Jonas Bonnedahl, Hanna Woksepp, Jorge Hernandez, John Reed, T. Lee Tibbitts, Björn Olsen, David C. Douglas, Andrew M. RameyPerfluoroalkyl contaminant exposure in tree swallows nesting at Clarks Marsh, Oscoda, Michigan, USA
A site in north eastern Michigan, Oscoda Township, has some of the highest recorded exposure in birds to perfluorinated substances (PFASs) in the U.S. Some egg and plasma concentrations at that location exceeded the lowest reproductive effect threshold established for two avian laboratory species. The objectives of this study were to determine whether there were reproductive effects or physiologAuthorsChristine M. Custer, Thomas W. Custer, Robert Delaney, Paul Dummer, Sandra L. Schultz, Natalie K. Karouna-RenierMercury concentrations vary within and among individual bird feathers: A critical evaluation and guidelines for feather use in mercury monitoring programs
Feathers are widely used to represent mercury contamination in birds. Yet, few recommendations exist that provide guidance for using bird feathers in mercury monitoring programs. We conducted a literature review and 5 experiments to show that mercury concentrations vary substantially within (vane >100% higher than calamus) and among (>1000%) individual feathers from the same bird. We developed a rAuthorsSarah H. Peterson, Joshua T. Ackerman, Matthew Toney, Mark P. HerzogMercury exposure and altered parental nesting behavior in a wild songbird
Methylmercury is a neurotoxin and endocrine disruptor and may impair avian reproduction directly through embryotoxicity or by altering parental care behaviors. We studied mercury exposure and incubation behavior of free-living tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) nesting in artificial nest boxes. Using small temperature dataloggers, we measured incubation constancy (the proportion of each day the fAuthorsC. Alex Hartman, Joshua T. Ackerman, Mark P. HerzogBiogeochemical and physical processes controlling mercury methylation and bioaccumulation in Lake Powell, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah and Arizona, 2014 and 2015
Mercury monitoring results from about 300 Morone saxatilis (striped bass) muscle tissue samples collected by the State of Utah from Lake Powell resulted in a Utah/Arizona fish consumption advisory issued in 2012 for approximately the lower 100 kilometers of the reservoir. Chemical, physical, and biological data were collected during two synoptic sampling cruises on Lake Powell during May/June 2014AuthorsDavid L. Naftz, Mark Marvin-DiPasquale, David P. Krabbenhoft, George Aiken, Eric S. Boyd, Christopher H. Conaway, Jacob M. Ogorek, Gregory M. AndersonModeling elk‐to‐livestock transmission risk to predict hotspots of brucellosis spillover
Wildlife reservoirs of infectious disease are a major source of human‐wildlife conflict because of the risk of potential spillover associated with commingling of wildlife and livestock. In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the presence of brucellosis (Brucella abortus) in free‐ranging elk (Cervus canadensis) populations is of significant management concern because of the risk of disease transmissAuthorsNathaniel D. Rayl, Kelly Proffitt, Emily S. Almberg, Jennifer D. Jones, Jerod Merkle, Justin A. Gude, Paul C. CrossPatterns of mercury and selenium exposure in Minnesota common loons
Common loons (Gavia immer) are at risk of elevated dietary mercury (Hg) exposure in portions of their breeding range. To assess the level of risk among loons in Minnesota (USA), we investigated loon blood Hg concentrations in breeding lakes across Minnesota. Loon blood Hg concentrations were regressed on predicted Hg concentrations in standardized 12‐cm whole‐organism yellow perch (Perca flavescenAuthorsKevin P. Kenow, Steven C. Houdek, Luke J. Fara, Richard A. Erickson, Brian R. Gray, Travis J. Harrison, Bruce Monson, Carrol L. Henderson - Web Tools
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