The team studies the movement of toxicants and pathogens that could originate from the growing, raising, and processing/manufacturing of plant and animal products through the environment where exposure can occur. This information is used to understand if there are adverse effects upon exposure and to develop decision tools to protect health.
Access to an adequate, safe, and sustainable supply of plant and animal products is one of the highest priorities for our society. During the growing and raising of such products requires the management of pests, diseases, and other threats by using a variety of tools such as organic and inorganic nutrients, pesticides, and veterinary pharmaceuticals. Best management practices, manufacturer's guidance on safe use, and chemical registration and approval processes administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Administration help farmers minimize health threats. Public concerns, however, regarding potential health threats to fish, wildlife, livestock, and humans posed by use of these tools and management practices are common, and are often based on perceptions rather than scientific information. The Food Resources Science Team designs and implements interdisciplinary research needed to help understand whether these concerns are warranted, and provides objective, unbiased information that decision makers need to address legitimate concerns.
Scientific Focus
The Food Resources Integrated Science Team, part of the Environmental Health Program in the Ecosystems Mission Area, focuses on hazards to the environment and humans associated with complex chemical and biological contaminant mixtures (i.e., antibiotic resistance bacteria/genes, viruses, pesticides, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances [PFAS], pharmaceuticals, microplastics, etc.) that could originate from the growing, raising, and processing/manufacturing of plant and animal products. The team conducts research in both field and laboratory settings to collectively deliver science to document contaminant sources, fate/transport through the environment to points of exposure, and whether such contaminant exposures pose a health hazard either individually or as complex mixtures.
Research Trajectory
The Team's research consists of multi-year/multi-phased efforts conducted to answer questions of national and global significance. These studies build on the knowledge gained from previous research that identified chemical, microbial, and zoonotic environmental contaminants translating to wildlife and human exposures and potential effects. Our research often employs a One Health (where human, plant, animal, and environmental interactions are characterized) combined with a source-to-receptor approach to understand chemical and biological contaminants in the environment from their sources through to aquatic and/or terrestrial organisms.
Priority Research Examples
Infectious avian Influenza (AIV) in environmental waters. AIV maintained in wild bird hosts is episodically spread to domestic poultry, which can lead to economically disastrous outbreaks. The Team is determining if the environment is a medium for maintenance and spread of AIV, which has important implications for the economy, food security, and human/animal health.
Environmental source and distribution of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antibiotic genes (ARG). Antimicrobial resistance poses a major threat to human health globally. The Team is determining the role of environmental sources and transfer plays in the development and distribution of AMR and ARG using a One-Health approach that acknowledges the connection between the physical environment and the health of humans and wildlife.
Fate and effects of process wastewaters from food, beverage, and feedstock processing plants. Municipal wastewater treatment plants and urban storm water runoff are well dcoumented sources of environmental contaminants. This Team is providing a comparable understanding of chemical and biological contaminants from food-related plant discharges and their potential effects on wildlife.

Environmental exposures and effects of recycled waste reuse on farmland. The demand for treated effluent reuse (as a beneficial source of water) and recycling of solid waste (as a beneficial source of nutrients) is growing and this Team is examining the potential effects and consequences of such reuse and recycling of liquid and solid waste onto farmland.
Effects of agricultural management practices on insect pollinators. Insect pollinators (both domestic and wild) provide a critical role through the maintenance of global plant diversity and pollination of food and fiber crops. Research is underway to better understand the effects of pesticides and other agricultural management practices on insect pollinators.
Environmental exposures to neonicotinoid insecticides. Neonicotinoid pesticides have quickly become the most widely used insecticide globally. Previous research has documented widespread environmental and human exposures and toxicity to selected organisms upon exposure. Consequently, additional research is underway to better understand human and wildlife environmental exposures to neonicotinoid pesticides and effects on wildlife.
Related science products listed below.
Effect of Chronic Neonicotinoid Insecticide Exposure upon Monarch Development
The following are the data releases from this science team’s research activities.
Concentrations of inorganic, organic, and microbial analytes from a national reconnaissance of wastewater from food, beverage, and feedstock facilities across the United States
Adult aquatic insect emergence, insect pesticide concentrations and water chemistry of wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region, North Dakota, USA, 2015-16
Water-quality data for a statewide assessment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) study in Iowa, 2019-2020
Temporal Viral Viability Data from Avian Influenza A Viruses Maintained in Alaska Wetlands Under Experimental and Environmental Conditions
Temporal Viral Viability Data from Avian Influenza A Viruses Maintained in North American Wetlands Under Experimental and Environmental Conditions
Microbial and chemical contaminant occurrence and concentration in groundwater and surface water proximal to large-scale poultry facilities and poultry litter, 2016
Uptake and toxicity of clothianidin to monarch butterflies from milkweed consumption (ver. 2.0, January 2020)
Toxicokinetics of imidacloprid-coated wheat seeds in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix) and an assessment of risk
Absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination of seed-treatment pesticides following the dosing of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)
Herbicide safeners and associated stream flow for water samples collected across Iowa and Illinois (2016-2017).
Below are publications associated with this science team.
Watershed-scale risk to aquatic organisms from complex chemical mixtures in the Shenandoah River
Food, beverage, and feedstock processing facility wastewater: A unique and underappreciated source of contaminants to U.S. streams
A comprehensive statewide spatiotemporal stream assessment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in an agricultural region of the United States
Public concern regarding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has grown substantially in recent years. In addition, research has documented multiple potential agriculture-related release pathways for PFAS (e.g., biosolids and livestock manure). Nevertheless, little research on the environmental prevalence of PFAS has been conducted in agricultural regions of the United States. To fill this g
Evidence for interannual persistence of infectious influenza A viruses in Alaska wetlands
Evaluation of ELISA for the analysis of imidacloprid in biological matrices: Cross-reactivities, matrix interferences, and comparison to LC-MS/MS
Exposure and transport of alkaloids and phytoestrogens from soybeans to agricultural soils and streams in the Midwestern United States
Sex- and developmental stage-related differences in the hepatic transcriptome of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) exposed to 17β-Trenbolone
Cross-ecosystem fluxes of pesticides from prairie wetlands mediated by aquatic insect emergence: Implications for terrestrial insectivores
Trends in agricultural triazole fungicide sse in the United States, 1992–2016 and possible implications for antifungal-resistant fungi in human disease
Field-level exposure of bumble bees to fungicides applied to a commercial cherry orchard
Prevalence of neonicotinoids and sulfoxaflor in alluvial aquifers in a high corn and soybean producing region of the Midwestern United States
Environmental and anthropogenic drivers of contaminants in agricultural watersheds with implications for land management
- Overview
The team studies the movement of toxicants and pathogens that could originate from the growing, raising, and processing/manufacturing of plant and animal products through the environment where exposure can occur. This information is used to understand if there are adverse effects upon exposure and to develop decision tools to protect health.
Access to an adequate, safe, and sustainable supply of plant and animal products is one of the highest priorities for our society. During the growing and raising of such products requires the management of pests, diseases, and other threats by using a variety of tools such as organic and inorganic nutrients, pesticides, and veterinary pharmaceuticals. Best management practices, manufacturer's guidance on safe use, and chemical registration and approval processes administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Administration help farmers minimize health threats. Public concerns, however, regarding potential health threats to fish, wildlife, livestock, and humans posed by use of these tools and management practices are common, and are often based on perceptions rather than scientific information. The Food Resources Science Team designs and implements interdisciplinary research needed to help understand whether these concerns are warranted, and provides objective, unbiased information that decision makers need to address legitimate concerns.
Scientific Focus
Contaminant releases can be associated with all steps of the food production process. The Food Integrated Science Team answers questions about what contaminants are released, if wildlife and humans are exposed, and if there are health hazards associated with exposure to wildlife. The Food Resources Integrated Science Team, part of the Environmental Health Program in the Ecosystems Mission Area, focuses on hazards to the environment and humans associated with complex chemical and biological contaminant mixtures (i.e., antibiotic resistance bacteria/genes, viruses, pesticides, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances [PFAS], pharmaceuticals, microplastics, etc.) that could originate from the growing, raising, and processing/manufacturing of plant and animal products. The team conducts research in both field and laboratory settings to collectively deliver science to document contaminant sources, fate/transport through the environment to points of exposure, and whether such contaminant exposures pose a health hazard either individually or as complex mixtures.
Research Trajectory
The Team's research consists of multi-year/multi-phased efforts conducted to answer questions of national and global significance. These studies build on the knowledge gained from previous research that identified chemical, microbial, and zoonotic environmental contaminants translating to wildlife and human exposures and potential effects. Our research often employs a One Health (where human, plant, animal, and environmental interactions are characterized) combined with a source-to-receptor approach to understand chemical and biological contaminants in the environment from their sources through to aquatic and/or terrestrial organisms.
Priority Research Examples
The team studies environmental transmission pathways for avian influenza from wild birds. Infectious avian Influenza (AIV) in environmental waters. AIV maintained in wild bird hosts is episodically spread to domestic poultry, which can lead to economically disastrous outbreaks. The Team is determining if the environment is a medium for maintenance and spread of AIV, which has important implications for the economy, food security, and human/animal health.
Environmental source and distribution of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antibiotic genes (ARG). Antimicrobial resistance poses a major threat to human health globally. The Team is determining the role of environmental sources and transfer plays in the development and distribution of AMR and ARG using a One-Health approach that acknowledges the connection between the physical environment and the health of humans and wildlife.
Fate and effects of process wastewaters from food, beverage, and feedstock processing plants. Municipal wastewater treatment plants and urban storm water runoff are well dcoumented sources of environmental contaminants. This Team is providing a comparable understanding of chemical and biological contaminants from food-related plant discharges and their potential effects on wildlife.
Sources/Usage: Some content may have restrictions. Visit Media to see details.Many bumble bee species have declined in recent decades due to changes in habitat, climate, and pressures from pathogens, pesticides and introduced species. Environmental exposures and effects of recycled waste reuse on farmland. The demand for treated effluent reuse (as a beneficial source of water) and recycling of solid waste (as a beneficial source of nutrients) is growing and this Team is examining the potential effects and consequences of such reuse and recycling of liquid and solid waste onto farmland.
Effects of agricultural management practices on insect pollinators. Insect pollinators (both domestic and wild) provide a critical role through the maintenance of global plant diversity and pollination of food and fiber crops. Research is underway to better understand the effects of pesticides and other agricultural management practices on insect pollinators.
Environmental exposures to neonicotinoid insecticides. Neonicotinoid pesticides have quickly become the most widely used insecticide globally. Previous research has documented widespread environmental and human exposures and toxicity to selected organisms upon exposure. Consequently, additional research is underway to better understand human and wildlife environmental exposures to neonicotinoid pesticides and effects on wildlife.
- Science
Related science products listed below.
Effect of Chronic Neonicotinoid Insecticide Exposure upon Monarch Development
The long-term viability of monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) populations in North America is in doubt. - Data
The following are the data releases from this science team’s research activities.
Concentrations of inorganic, organic, and microbial analytes from a national reconnaissance of wastewater from food, beverage, and feedstock facilities across the United States
This dataset contains results for treated wastewater samples collected at food processing facilities across the United States to characterize the potential contaminant profile of this type of wastewater. The associated report (Hubbard and others, 2021) can be found at https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c06821. Samples were analyzed by USGS laboratories using 10 target organic (576 unique analytes),Adult aquatic insect emergence, insect pesticide concentrations and water chemistry of wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region, North Dakota, USA, 2015-16
This data release includes sampling location data, field-collected wetland attribute data, field-collected water chemistry data, laboratory-processed water chemistry data (anions, cations, alkalinity, nutrients, chlorophyll a concentrations, dissolved organic carbon, and specific ultraviolet absorbance, pesticide concentrations), dry mass of adult aquatic insects emerging from the surface of the wWater-quality data for a statewide assessment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) study in Iowa, 2019-2020
Data were collected at 60 surface water and two effluent sites across Iowa in 2019-2020 by staff from the U.S. Geological Survey Central Midwest Water Science Center. Samples were submitted to the National Water Quality Laboratory in Denver, Colorado, and were analyzed for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.Temporal Viral Viability Data from Avian Influenza A Viruses Maintained in Alaska Wetlands Under Experimental and Environmental Conditions
Data sets containing: (1) sample collection and influenza A virus (IAV) screening information for wild ducks, (2) water temperature data from four wetlands within the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, USA (3) water quality measurement from four wetlands within the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, USA, (4) genetic sequence data for IAVs recovered from replicate samples of wildTemporal Viral Viability Data from Avian Influenza A Viruses Maintained in North American Wetlands Under Experimental and Environmental Conditions
Data sets containing: (1) sample collection and influenza A virus (IAV) screening information for wild ducks, (2) water temperature data for six North American wetlands, (3) water quality measurement from those wetlands, (4) laboratory-based study of viral viability using Minnesota wetland water, (5) naive mallards challenged experimentally with IAVs identified from the field experiment, and (6) gMicrobial and chemical contaminant occurrence and concentration in groundwater and surface water proximal to large-scale poultry facilities and poultry litter, 2016
Chemical and biological results, quality assurance and quality control, and method information from groundwater, surface water, and litter samples, collected from nine locations in Iowa and one in Wisconsin in 2016. Thirteen groundwater, nine surface water, four poultry litter, and four QA/QC samples were collected. Samples were analyzed at U.S. Geological Survey laboratories; bacteria, pathogens,Uptake and toxicity of clothianidin to monarch butterflies from milkweed consumption (ver. 2.0, January 2020)
Recent concern for the adverse effects from neonicotinoid insecticides has centered on risk for insect pollinators in general and bees specifically. However, natural resource managers are also concerned about the risk of neonicotinoids to conservation efforts for the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and need a tool to estimate risk for wild monarch butterflies exposed to clothianidin. In the pToxicokinetics of imidacloprid-coated wheat seeds in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix) and an assessment of risk
- Observations of test subjects, - Body weight, organ/tissue weights - Biomarker data (oxidative DNA damage, thyroid hormones, corticosterone, gene expression) in various tissues - Residues as percent of administered dose - Tissues to plasma rations - Metabolites and ratios - Elimination half-livesAbsorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination of seed-treatment pesticides following the dosing of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)
Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) were orally dosed with pesticide-treated or control-untreated wheat seeds. Pesticide treated wheat seeds were analytically verified for active ingredients of imidacloprid, metalaxyl, tebuconazole, and fludioxonil. Pesticide and metabolite residues were measured in plasma, liver, brain, kidney, muscle, and excreta of exposed and control birds. Samples were extractHerbicide safeners and associated stream flow for water samples collected across Iowa and Illinois (2016-2017).
Four dichloroacetamide herbicide safeners (AD-67, benoxacor, dichlormid, and furilazole) and two co-applied herbicides (acetochlor and metolachlor) were measured in water samples from 7 streams across Iowa and Illinois. Iowa water samples were collected from March 2016 to June 2017, and Illinois water samples were collected from September 2016 to June 2017. The compounds studied are applied to cor - Publications
Below are publications associated with this science team.
Filter Total Items: 32Watershed-scale risk to aquatic organisms from complex chemical mixtures in the Shenandoah River
River waters contain complex chemical mixtures derived from natural and anthropogenic sources. Aquatic organisms are exposed to the entire chemical composition of the water, resulting in potential effects at the organismal through ecosystem level. This study applied a holistic approach to assess landscape, hydrological, chemical, and biological variables. On-site mobile laboratory experiments wereFood, beverage, and feedstock processing facility wastewater: A unique and underappreciated source of contaminants to U.S. streams
Process wastewaters from food, beverage, and feedstock facilities, although regulated, are an under-investigated environmental contaminant source. Food process wastewaters (FPWWs) from 23 facilities in 17 U.S. states were sampled and documented for a plethora of chemical and microbial contaminants. Of the 576 analyzed organics, 184 (32%) were detected at least once, with concentrations as large asByEcosystems, Water Resources, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Central Midwest Water Science Center, Kansas Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Upper Midwest Water Science Center, National Water Quality LaboratoryA comprehensive statewide spatiotemporal stream assessment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in an agricultural region of the United States
Public concern regarding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has grown substantially in recent years. In addition, research has documented multiple potential agriculture-related release pathways for PFAS (e.g., biosolids and livestock manure). Nevertheless, little research on the environmental prevalence of PFAS has been conducted in agricultural regions of the United States. To fill this g
Evidence for interannual persistence of infectious influenza A viruses in Alaska wetlands
Influenza A viruses (IAVs) deposited by wild birds into the environment may lead to sporadic mortality events and economically costly outbreaks among domestic birds. There is a paucity of information, however, regarding the persistence of infectious IAVs within the environment following deposition. In this investigation, we assessed the persistence of 12 IAVs that were present in the cloaca and/orEvaluation of ELISA for the analysis of imidacloprid in biological matrices: Cross-reactivities, matrix interferences, and comparison to LC-MS/MS
Imidacloprid is among the most used pesticides worldwide and there are toxicity concerns for nontarget organisms. Accurate and sensitive methods are necessary to quantitate imidacloprid concentrations in biological matrices to better understand their fate and effects. Here we evaluated an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit for the analysis of imidacloprid in biological samples. FollowinExposure and transport of alkaloids and phytoestrogens from soybeans to agricultural soils and streams in the Midwestern United States
Phytotoxins are naturally produced toxins with potencies similar/higher than many anthropogenic micropollutants. Nevertheless, little is known regarding their environmental fate and off-field transport to streams. To fill this research gap, a network of six basins in the Midwestern United States with substantial soybean production was selected for the study. Stream water (n = 110), soybean plant tSex- and developmental stage-related differences in the hepatic transcriptome of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) exposed to 17β-Trenbolone
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can cause transcriptomic changes that may disrupt biological processes associated with reproductive function including metabolism, transport, and cell growth. We investigated effects from in ovo and dietary exposure to 17β-trenbolone (at 0, 1, and 10 ppm) on the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) hepatic transcriptome. Our objectives were to identify differentially eCross-ecosystem fluxes of pesticides from prairie wetlands mediated by aquatic insect emergence: Implications for terrestrial insectivores
Contaminants alter the quantity and quality of insect prey available to terrestrial insectivores. In agricultural regions, the quantity of aquatic insects emerging from freshwaters can be impacted by insecticides originating from surrounding croplands. We hypothesized that, in such regions, adult aquatic insects could also act as vectors of pesticide transfer to terrestrial food webs. To estimateTrends in agricultural triazole fungicide sse in the United States, 1992–2016 and possible implications for antifungal-resistant fungi in human disease
Background:The fungus Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus) is the leading cause of invasive mold infections, which cause severe disease and death in immunocompromised people. Use of triazole antifungal medications in recent decades has improved patient survival; however, triazole-resistant infections have become common in parts of Europe and are emerging in the United States. Triazoles are also aField-level exposure of bumble bees to fungicides applied to a commercial cherry orchard
Bumble bees, Bombus spp. (Apidae), are important native pollinators; however, populations of some species are declining in North America and agricultural chemicals are a potential cause. Fungicides are generally not highly toxic to bees, but little is known about sublethal or synergistic effects. This study evaluates bumble bee exposure to fungicides by quantifying concentrations of boscalid and pPrevalence of neonicotinoids and sulfoxaflor in alluvial aquifers in a high corn and soybean producing region of the Midwestern United States
Neonicotinoids have been previously detected in Iowa surface waters, but less is known regarding their occurrence in groundwater. To help fill this research gap, a groundwater study was conducted in eastern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota, a corn and soybean producing area with known heavy neonicotinoid use. Neonicotinoids were studied in alluvial aquifers, a hydrogeologic setting known to be vulnEnvironmental and anthropogenic drivers of contaminants in agricultural watersheds with implications for land management
If not managed properly, modern agricultural practices can alter surface and groundwater quality and drinking water resources resulting in potential negative effects on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Exposure to agriculturally derived contaminant mixtures has the potential to alter habitat quality and negatively affect fish and other aquatic organisms. Implementation of conservation practicesByEcosystems, Water Resources, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, California Water Science Center, Central Midwest Water Science Center, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Kansas Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, New York Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center