The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States and provides critical resources to fish, wildlife and people. For more than a decade, recreational fish species have been plagued with skin lesions and intersex conditions (the presence of male and female sex characteristics in the same fish) that biologists attributed to exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Interdisciplinary teams of hydrologists, chemists, geologists, geographers and biologists on the Chesapeake Bay EDC project of the U.S. Geological Survey's Environmental Health Mission Area work collaboratively at field sites and in highly specialized U.S. Geological Survey laboratories with Federal, State and academic research partners. This work provides science to inform decisions on agricultural best management practices, urban storm water management, municipal wastewater treatment and other factors related to sources, movement and possible health effects of EDCs on recreational fish species. This research teams is in its final completion stages.
Current Science Questions and Activities
- What is the relationship between fish health and land-use in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed?
- How does exposure to EDCs in water and sediment from agriculturally dominated watersheds effect the health of individual smallmouth bass?
- Can an effects directed analysis approach be used to identify chemical(s) or chemical classes responsible for endocrine disruption in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed?
- What is the potential influence of mercury on endocrine responses in fish of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed relative to other EDCs?
- What types of EDCs are accumulating in wild fish tissues in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and what, if any, are their roles in immune response?
- Do chemicals previously shown to be statistically correlated with intersex in fish in the Chesapeake Bay watershed actually induce intersex and other forms of endocrine disruption?
- What are the relationships between endocrine disruption in the Chesapeake Bay (for example fish intersex) and known or expected sources of EDCs on the landscape?
- What are the relationships between landscape variables, chemical contaminant sources, pathways to the aquatic environment, and endocrine disruption in fish in the Chesapeake Bay?
USGS science related to the Endocrine Disrupting Compounds in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Science Team.
Organic Contaminant Levels and the Reproductive Success of Ospreys in Chesapeake Bay
The following are the data releases from this science team’s research activities.
Shenandoah River Accumulated Wastewater Ratio
2004-2010 Chesapeake Bay Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass Estrogenic Biomarker Data
Amphibian Occupancy and Effects of Habitat Use on Pesticide Exposure in Iowa Wetlands
Estrogen Equivalents of Surface Water in the Upper Chesapeake Bay Watershed (2008 - 2011)
Potential contaminant sources and other landscape variables summarized for NHDPlus Version 2.1 catchments within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (ver. 2.0, June 2021)
Below are publications associated with this science team. Get this science team’s complete bibliography.
Exploring the amphibian exposome in an agricultural landscape using telemetry and passive sampling
Development of a dual luciferase activity and fluorescamine protein assay adapted to a 384 micro-well plate format: Reducing variability in human luciferase transactivation cell lines aimed at endocrine active substances
- Overview
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States and provides critical resources to fish, wildlife and people. For more than a decade, recreational fish species have been plagued with skin lesions and intersex conditions (the presence of male and female sex characteristics in the same fish) that biologists attributed to exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Interdisciplinary teams of hydrologists, chemists, geologists, geographers and biologists on the Chesapeake Bay EDC project of the U.S. Geological Survey's Environmental Health Mission Area work collaboratively at field sites and in highly specialized U.S. Geological Survey laboratories with Federal, State and academic research partners. This work provides science to inform decisions on agricultural best management practices, urban storm water management, municipal wastewater treatment and other factors related to sources, movement and possible health effects of EDCs on recreational fish species. This research teams is in its final completion stages.
U.S. Geological Survey scientists conducting health assessments on smallmouth bass collected from a creek in Pennsylvania.(Credit: Megan Schall, Pennsylvania State University. Public domain.) Current Science Questions and Activities
- What is the relationship between fish health and land-use in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed?
- How does exposure to EDCs in water and sediment from agriculturally dominated watersheds effect the health of individual smallmouth bass?
- Can an effects directed analysis approach be used to identify chemical(s) or chemical classes responsible for endocrine disruption in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed?
- What is the potential influence of mercury on endocrine responses in fish of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed relative to other EDCs?
- What types of EDCs are accumulating in wild fish tissues in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and what, if any, are their roles in immune response?
- Do chemicals previously shown to be statistically correlated with intersex in fish in the Chesapeake Bay watershed actually induce intersex and other forms of endocrine disruption?
- What are the relationships between endocrine disruption in the Chesapeake Bay (for example fish intersex) and known or expected sources of EDCs on the landscape?
- What are the relationships between landscape variables, chemical contaminant sources, pathways to the aquatic environment, and endocrine disruption in fish in the Chesapeake Bay?
- Science
USGS science related to the Endocrine Disrupting Compounds in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Science Team.
Organic Contaminant Levels and the Reproductive Success of Ospreys in Chesapeake Bay
Changes in the regulation and use of some organic chemicals have caused environmental concentrations to stabilize or decline during the past 35 years coincident with a rebound in the osprey (Pandion haliaetus) population of the Chesapeake Bay. - Data
The following are the data releases from this science team’s research activities.
Shenandoah River Accumulated Wastewater Ratio
De facto wastewater reuse from Waste Water Treatment Facilities (WWTF) has the potential to be a significant contributor of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals. An ArcGIS model of WWTFs, NHDPlus Version 2 stream networks (USGS and EPA 2012), and gage stations across the Shenandoah River watershed was created to calculate accumulated wastewater ratio. Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPD2004-2010 Chesapeake Bay Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass Estrogenic Biomarker Data
The data was gathered to document the extent and severity of biomarkers of exposure to estrogenic chemicals in smallmouth and largemouth bass. Samples were collected from 2004 through 2010 at sites in five watersheds within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. A total of 281 largemouth bass were collected from the Potomac, Susquehanna, Patuxent and Rappahannock rivers and 1,384 smallmouth bass from the PAmphibian Occupancy and Effects of Habitat Use on Pesticide Exposure in Iowa Wetlands
Amphibians living in agricultural areas encounter many challenges. Two factors affecting individuals in these landscapes are habitat loss and pesticides. This thesis focuses on amphibians using agricultural wetlands in Iowa, where row crops such as corn and soybeans dominate the landscape. The goal of my first study was to determine the influences of site characteristics on amphibian presence andEstrogen Equivalents of Surface Water in the Upper Chesapeake Bay Watershed (2008 - 2011)
Intersex in small- and largemouth bass has been observed in the upper Chesapeake Bay Watershed since 2003. This observation is indicative of exposure to estrogenic endocrine disrupting chemicals. In order to complement biological data sets and better identify the spatial and temporal nature of this end-point, discrete grab water samples were collected throughout the upper Chesapeake Bay WatershedPotential contaminant sources and other landscape variables summarized for NHDPlus Version 2.1 catchments within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (ver. 2.0, June 2021)
This dataset consists of 262 variables which describe various known and suspected point and non-point sources of contaminants and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Contaminant data was summarized to the NHDPlus Version 2.1 catchment level (1:100K). Contaminant data summarized span a time range of 2001 to 2016 and include regulated facilities, pesticides - Publications
Below are publications associated with this science team. Get this science team’s complete bibliography.
Exploring the amphibian exposome in an agricultural landscape using telemetry and passive sampling
This is the first field study of its kind to combine radio telemetry, passive samplers, and pesticide accumulation in tissues to characterize the amphibian exposome as it relates to pesticides. Understanding how habitat drives exposure in individuals (i.e., their exposome), and how that relates to individual health is critical to managing species in an agricultural landscape where pesticide exposuAuthorsJennifer E. Swanson, Erin L. Muths, Clay Pierce, Stephen J. Dinsmore, Mark W. Vandever, Michelle Hladik, Kelly L. SmallingDevelopment of a dual luciferase activity and fluorescamine protein assay adapted to a 384 micro-well plate format: Reducing variability in human luciferase transactivation cell lines aimed at endocrine active substances
There is a need to adapt cell bioassays to 384-well and 1536-well formats instead of the traditional 96-well format as high-throughput screening (HTS) demands increase. However, the sensitivity and performance of the bioassay must be re-verified in these higher micro-well plates, and verification of cell health must also be HT (high-throughput). We have adapted two commonly used human breast lucifAuthorsJennifer Brennan, Donald E. Tillitt