Ecologically-Driven Exposure Pathways Science Team
Ecologically-Driven Exposure Pathways Science Team
Ecologically-Driven Exposure Pathways Science Team
The Ecologically-Driven Exposure Pathways team identifies internal and external pathways and processes that can alter exposure and toxicity of contaminants and pathogens to wildlife the environment.
Filter Total Items: 23
Avian Influenza Prevalence Correlated to Mercury Concentrations in Wild Waterfowl
Low pathogenic avian influenza infections were directly correlated with blood mercury concentrations in wild waterfowl, indicating that mercury exposure may be related to pathogen susceptibility. Further study is needed to determine if and how mercury and other environmental contaminant exposures may affect disease susceptibility in wildlife.
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Acquired by Wild Birds in Urban Settings and Dispersed via Migration
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists have developed a model that demonstrates how migratory wild birds in urban areas can acquire bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, including those used in clinics, and potentially disperse these bacteria between continents via migration.
Ecologically-Driven Exposure Pathways Science Team
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.
Food Web Changes Dampen Expected Reductions in Lake Trout Mercury Levels in Lake Michigan—Invasive Species Play Major Role
Combined analyses of mercury, nitrogen, and carbon isotopes in archived lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush ) tissues and sediment cores in Lake Michigan from 1978 to 2012 indicated that lake trout mercury concentrations mirrored declines in mercury sources prior to the arrival of invasive species that changed mercury transfer through the food and dampened the expected decreases in mercury...
Mercury Isotope Ratios used to Determine Sources of Mercury to Fish in Northeast U.S. Streams
Mercury isotope analyses were used to distinguish different sources of mercury to fish in 23 streams along a forested-rural to urban-industrial land-use gradient in the Northeastern United States. The use of mercury isotope measurements in fish tissue allow for distinguishing different sources of mercury that are bioaccumulating into the food web. Mercury isotope signatures in fish in forested...
Science to Help Understand Exposure and Toxicological Effects of Environmental Mercury to Representative Birds
Exposure and toxicity of environmental mercury to birds can be enhanced or lessened due to the available sources and forms of mercury and other species dependent factors such as life stage, migratory patterns, foraging and nesting behaviors, transfer of mercury from mothers to eggs, and sex. For example, mercury exposure can lead to sublethal toxicological effects that can influence parental...
No Adverse Reproductive Effects Observed in Tree Swallows Exposed to Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Clarks Marsh, Michigan
Perfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) concentrations in tree swallows ( Tachycineta bicolor ) breeding at Clarks Marsh near a decommissioned U.S. Air Force base in Michigan were among the highest concentrations ever documented in birds indicating significant PFAS exposures. In contrast to previous studies where reproductive impairment was documented at lower PFAS exposure, there were no adverse effects...
Roadmap to Understanding Factors Influencing Mercury Exposure and Adverse Health Effects
In a comprehensive overview, scientists explain that human and wildlife exposure and toxicological responses to mercury are dependent on factors that operate across global, individual, and molecular scales. They provide a roadmap for unified research to facilitate a better understanding of human and wildlife health risks from mercury exposure.
Systematic Approach to Understanding Tree Swallow Health in the Great Lakes Region—Science to Inform Restoration
Four papers by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists document tree swallow ( Tachycineta bicolor ) chemical exposure, physiological responses, and reproductive success in the Great Lakes region. These studies were designed to understand if there are health threats to swallows from contaminant exposure, and to provide resource managers with information about the actual as opposed to the...
Scientists Identify Processes that Affect Fish Mercury Concentrations in Estuarine Wetlands
In a study designed to help resource managers when considering mercury exposure risk, scientists determined that sulfur cycling—a process closely related to mercury methylation rates—and ecological conditions that influence exposure are important factors affecting fish mercury concentrations in estuarine wetlands.
Simple Ways to Avoid Public Exposures to Infectious Wildlife Diseases Summarized
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and other disease specialists, have published reports during the past 12 years with information about the geographic distribution of diseases, specific pathogens, disease ecology, and strategies to avoid human exposure and infection for seven zoonotic diseases.
New Method Can Measure Naturally Occurring Element Exposure in Hummingbirds Without Harm
Seventeen naturally occurring trace elements, including those associated with adverse health impacts when birds are exposed to toxic levels (iron, lead, mercury, selenium, zinc, cadmium, and arsenic) were measured in small birds without harm. The nonlethal method was developed for hummingbirds, with Anna's hummingbirds ( Calypte anna ) as a test species and can be more broadly applied to other...