Fishing and Hunting

The Outdoor Resources Integrated Science Team studies how contaminants, pathogens, and other environmental stressors affect the health of fish and wildlife that support recreational and cultural traditions, providing practical science that guides responsible land and water use, supports informed stewardship, and helps ensure resilient outdoor resources for all communities.

The unique combination of natural processes and human activities present in western North America can strongly affect the exposure of fish and birds to methylmercury, the most toxic form of mercury (Hg).

The first known hepatitis B virus to infect fish (white sucker; Catostomus commersonii) has been discovered by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists.

Chemical contaminants including herbicides, veterinary pharmaceuticals, and biogenic hormones have been detected at fish nesting sites in the Potomac River watershed where endocrine disruption in smallmouth bass ( Micropterus dolomieu) was also observed. Although these contaminants are known to originate from a variety of human and animal-waste sources, results of a recent U.S. Geological Survey (...